Demidov’s instant success forces St. Louis to make hard choices for Canadiens

BROSSARD, Que. — An observation made during the first period of Monday’s game: As Ivan Demidov was putting on a show in his NHL debut, Juraj Slafkovsky was in the process of stringing together his best shifts in two weeks.

Whether Slafkovsky wants to admit it or not, it wasn’t a coincidence.

The Canadiens forward could argue he was due for that type of performance, especially after expressing dissatisfaction with his game last week.

“I feel I can still bring a little more,” Slafkovsky said on April 8. “It’s also new for me. I feel like I’m learning because, obviously, I played last year. But at this time of the year last year, we were out … Now there are bigger things on the line. But I feel I can be a little different. The last two or three games weren’t what I want it to be. Maybe I’ll be better tonight.”

The thing is, those comments came before Slafkovsky had an ordinary performance against the Detroit Red Wings and followed it up with two of his least effective games over the weekend.

So, what changed on Monday?

Demidov. That’s what.

As the 19-year-old was making his way to Toronto while the Canadiens were in Ottawa on Friday, we asked the 21-year-old Slafkovsky what his arrival might stimulate within the group.

But Slafkovsky is media-savvy enough to know what we were really asking him was how it might inspire him to get to his best game in a hurry.

“I think it’s great. A lot of good players, and competition is bigger,” Slafkovsky responded. “You want to make better plays, you want to do more for the team so you stay in (the competition), so it can only help us.”

Demidov didn’t have that effect from the press box while the Canadiens were playing the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Perhaps he was too far out of sight and out of mind then.

But it seemed undeniable Demidov had that effect on Slafkovsky against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

The first-overall pick in 2022 started his first shift with a hit on Ryan Donato. A few minutes later, he registered the first of a team-leading nine shot attempts on the night. And even if he got a lucky bounce to tie the game on the power play with 2:57 remaining in overtime, his play in general earned him that bounce.

We weren’t the only ones to notice it.

“He played like a guy that knew that it was a big game,” said Josh Anderson. “He was using his big body, finishing checks, tracking too. I thought he tracked really well. Just his overall game was good, I thought.”

Martin St. Louis had to have thought so, too, hence his decision to abstain from doing something as drastic as pulling Slafkovsky off the top line — or off the first wave of the power play — in favour of Demidov as the game went along Monday.

Slafkovsky should understand that doesn’t guarantee he’ll remain in both places Wednesday. Especially if the Canadiens remain in the same spot they’re in as of this writing.

The team is still a point away from clinching a playoff berth. A regulation win for the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday would keep the Canadiens there. And if things aren’t working at the start of Montreal’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, everyone should understand St. Louis will have to make whatever changes he deems necessary to get them that precious point that’ll punch their ticket.

“I can do whatever I want,” the coach said after Tuesday’s practice, and we don’t think he approached Monday’s game any different.

He could’ve chosen to move Demidov up to his top line after watching him earn two points off his first two puck touches in the league, but he chose to keep him where he was because he was playing well with Alex Newhook and a mix of Joel Armia and Patrik Laine while Slafkovsky was playing well on Montreal’s top line.

St. Louis also could’ve moved Demidov to the struggling top power-play unit. And he could’ve tapped him to go first, second or third, instead of fourth, in the shootout.

But he chose to go with the players he’s already seen in those circumstances, and that was totally understandable.

You also couldn’t argue that Demidov didn’t get enough opportunity from St. Louis Monday. He played close to 17 minutes — 2:59 of it on the power play — and played a shift in the final minute of regulation and one more in overtime, and that was in spite of the mistake the kid made on Chicago’s third goal (a blown backcheck that would’ve seen him stapled to the bench for three games by his KHL coach earlier this season).

In the end, it was good that St. Louis tested Demidov out as much as he did with a playoff berth on the line. Now the coach has that much more information on Tuesday than he did on Monday, and that’ll better inform his decisions come Wednesday.

What helps St. Louis make them with impunity is the trust he has from his players.

“There’s so much going on, but the most important thing is winning a hockey game right now,” said Brendan Gallagher. “We have obviously a special talent (in Demidov) … Marty likes to say that as a player he’s gone through every situation, and I think that really helps him in these situations. He’s seen it all and does what he thinks is best for our team, and as a group we believe in that. That’s the confidence that we have in him, and we know he’s going to make the right choice to get that result.”

St. Louis’s choices on Monday helped the Canadiens get a result that helped their cause, even if they didn’t generate their most desired result.

He also gave Demidov enough opportunity to prove to his teammates that he can deliver, and that only helps them understand that whatever opportunity he might take from someone else Wednesday has a strong chance of benefiting the team.

“I think guys have to accept that,” said Anderson. “You have a player that’s going to help you win, and we saw that last night. Obviously, every guy in this room is a big piece of where we’re at … To add a player like that is going to help us win at the end of the day.”

St. Louis knows that.

If Demidov appears as comfortable in his second NHL game as he did in his first, he won’t hesitate to give him more.

“I think you saw that (on Monday) we weren’t scared to put the kid in situations,” St. Louis said. “I know he played a good game, but it’s one game. Will it be that all the time? I don’t know. He’s a very young kid, you can see he has big potential.

“Is that game his level? Does he have another level? I imagine he does.

“So it’s exciting to see what we saw (Monday), and I know as coach you walk that line of being delicate and not wanting to stifle him, but you follow your gut as coach and trust your decisions. That’s what I’m doing.”

None of it is easy.

St. Louis will have to choose between Oliver Kapanen, who played most of the season in Sweden, and Emil Heineman, who played a big role in the Canadiens’ success earlier this year but has struggled to find his best self since suffering a broken wrist after being hit by a car in Utah in January. That’s a tough choice.

Based on Tuesday’s practice, the coach is making another one to likely go into Wednesday’s game with his top line and top power-play unit intact. And it’ll be just as challenging to move away from those decisions if they don’t appear as though they’ll bear fruit.

St. Louis won’t have to if Slafkovsky plays like he did on Monday, like a player who doesn’t want to lose his job to Demidov. He won’t have to if Cole Caufield, Laine and everyone else does their job to the best of their abilities.

If Demidov brings that out in them, in addition to making everyone he plays with better — as he did in Monday’s game — the Canadiens will give themselves their best chance at finally clinching a playoff spot.

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