The Montreal Canadiens are getting playoff experience. That’s going to go a long way even if the losses sting this year. It’s all a part of development. You can’t get good without experiencing some dissapointment.

Talking about Ivan Demidov. I didn’t like the idea of him playing on the fourth line. I saw this happen with Matvei Michkov. Now, this is the playoffs, but the same results are still the same results. If you don’t play him with players who have a high skill level, you aren’t going to get a ton out of him this early in his NHL career

He played almost 13 minutes so that’s fine. Just move him up to the third line. I bet you will see more than zero shots on net. I would make this bet right now. The Canadiens need a spark and it’s hard for a rookie to do this on the 4th line. 

To me, it’s obvious to swap him out withJoel  Armia and then you have to decide if he is a good fit for Patrk Laine. Maybe Martin St. Louis can move him up. None of this is ideal but the Canadiens need to generate more offense and this is a way of doing that without putting too much pressure on Demidov. 

He’s not the savior but he can add some offense and that’s all I would be looking for. At this point in time, everything should be on the table so the Canadiens can get a win under their belts. 

They may not win the series but a home win would go a long way.