Ivan Demidov in the first game of his young career. Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/db84bec4-7683-4da3-971f-f2610512e7bf.jpeg] Ivan Demidov in the first game of his young career. Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images After holding an optional skate on Friday morning, Martin St-Louis held a regular practice on Saturday. While it was scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m., at 10:30, most of the players were already on the ice, ready to get going. Playoffs Primer: Canadiens Vs. Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/playoffs-primer-canadiens-vs-capitals] Spencer Carbery Is Tricky [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/spencer-carbery-is-tricky] Canadiens: Feels Like 2010? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-feels-like-2010] Former assistant coach Alex Burrows was also present and had a long conversation with Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens]’ center Jake Evans. Samuel Montembeault revealed the nature of the conversation in the post-practice media availability. The netminder told us that Burrows had been scouting the Washington Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals] for a few weeks already, paying particular attention to their lethal power play. Once practice started, St-Louis got everyone’s legs going with three vs. three mini-games on a reduced ice surface. Then there were some passing and shooting drills, but not as complete lines. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield always worked together, while Ivan Demidov was always with Patrik Laine. Then, the focus was squarely on the power play. There was no change to the first unit, with Suzuki, Laine, Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Lane Hutson skating together, but much of the focus was on getting Caufield to unleash shots from the bumper position. Asked how he felt about being deployed there, the diminutive sniper answered that it was a work in progress and that it would depend on how Washington deployed its penalty kill. On Caufield, the coach said: > He’s progressed tremendously from goal line to goal line on both sides; he’s > had to score goals differently a little bit this year; you see him more on the > inside. I think it’s important for him not to be a perimeter player, having > all those touches in space all the time, the game isn’t going to give you that > space all the time. I think especially in the playoffs, you must be willing to > play inside regardless of whether you're big-bodied or not. - Martin St-Louis on Cole Caufield. On the second until, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Newhook, Demidov, and Mike Matheson participated in all the drills while Suzuki and Joel Armia alternated. Time will tell if St-Louis has finally decided not to overwork his captain and give him a bit of downtime. It wouldn’t be a bad idea, and it would allow him to be fresher and play better minutes. After practice, the members of the penalty killing units were whisked away for a meeting to dissect the Capitals’ power play and its weapon of mass destruction, Alexander Ovechkin. Speaking of the Great Eight, Ivan Demidov explained that he watched him play growing up, but he was more of an Evgeni Malkin fan. The youngster is preparing to play in his second professional playoff tournament in the same season. When he was asked what he thought was different between the postseason and the regular season, he said: > The playoffs are a different game than the regular season, you need like more > energy. - Ivan Demidov on the difference between the regular season and the playoffs. When asked about his feelings about playing the newly minted best goal scorer in league history, Patrik Laine simply replied, “I couldn’t care less.” Clearly, the Finnish sniper doesn’t feel like too much emphasis should be put on Washington’s captain. Meanwhile, goaltender Samuel Montembeault is ready to finally make his playoffs debut and is excited about the challenge of facing the Caps. > It was about time, after eight years, to finally get to play some playoff > hockey. I’m really excited to do it with this team and am looking forward to > Monday. - As for how he stayed cool and collected down the stretch while under much pressure, he explained: > I had some meetings with our sports psychologist here. We spoke about staying > in the moment and just focusing on your breathing. When you focus on your > breathing, you’re not thinking about what’s going to happen in the future or > what happened in the past. - Samuel Montembeault on how he stays calm. You can expect some very physical hockey when the puck drops on the series on Monday night in Washington. Josh Anderson mentioned how hard someone like Tom Wilson would play and added that he would do the same for the Canadiens. Caufield was asked how important it was that Slafkovsky played a physical game, and he said: > That’s how he should play every game. He knows it, it’s just about him making > that decision himself and leading the way physically, I’d say. - Cole Caufield on Juraj Slafkovsky This is an assessment that most fans will agree with. There was a bit of excitement in the air in Brossard. The players were visibly happy to have reached the postseason, as they should be. The bench boss was also in good spirits, even teasing The Athletic’s Arpon Basu when he had to be called on twice to ask his question. St-Louis smiled and asked if he was in Ferris Bueller, giving everyone a good chuckle. The Canadiens will hold another practice in Brossard on Sunday morning before taking off for Washington to prepare for game one the following day. Game two is scheduled for Wednesday, and the series will move to Montreal on Friday, when the Bell Center should be filled to the brim with overexcited fans. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwo-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen], never to miss a story. 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