Browsing: topple

They had none of it to start the game, sleepwalking through the first period and emerging fortunate to have not spotted the Vancouver Canucks a bigger lead than 1-0.

The Canadiens didnâ€t start the second any better before falling down 2-0 in the eighth minute of the second period. They were flat, they were forcing passes, they were disconnected at five-on-five, and they were playing the exact type of game that would force their power play to come through.

Turns out the timing was ripe because the Canadiens’ power play, as currently constructed, was designed to do exactly that.

They didnâ€t need it to get them to 6-2-0, but it wouldâ€ve helped them avoid a loss in Edmonton had it hit the ice more than once in that game.

On Saturday, with Demidov replacing Zachary Bolduc and occupying the right half-wall of the top unit for just the second time this season, it offered up three rescue breaths to help the Canadiens turn a sure loss into a 4-3 win. And, in the process, it served notice that itâ€ll be a force to be reckoned with moving forward.

Just having Demidov across from Suzuki makes it so.

“You think back to Tampa, with (Steven) Stamkos and (Nikita) Kucherov kind of going seam-seam, thatâ€s hard to defend,†said Mike Matheson. “Once you can rely that itâ€s going to be in one guyâ€s hands a bit more, you can read off that as a P.K. But when thereâ€s two guys (opposite each other) who are really good with the puck, it really adds an element.â€

Itâ€s not as if Martin St. Louis didnâ€t know.

Long before taking over the Canadiens†bench in February of 2022, he spent plenty of time at his vacation home in Tampa Bay, watching Stamkos and Kucherov torch their opposition time and time again. The coach also had Demidov playing with Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson through the end of Montrealâ€s first-round playoff series against the Washington Capitals last spring, so he had a fair idea of what they could do together before this season started.

But with Noah Dobson traded for and signed over the summer, and with Patrik Laine healthy, the coach sought more balance by opting to split Suzuki and Demidov so that each power-play unit could have an elite playmaker on it.

With Laine not making the trip through Western Canada, and with him later going under the knife to repair a torn core muscle that will require a three-to-four-month recovery, the impetus to move Demidov up was created.

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There were other things steering St. Louis in that direction, too.

“Iâ€ve known all along that Demi can play on the first wave, first power play,†St. Louis said. “I feel I got to a certain point with Demi where he showed me heâ€s willing to play on the other side of the game, the defensive game, and heâ€s actually very attentive and trying to keep getting better. So, for me, all signs led to: itâ€s time. And it was also a chance for me to get him more ice-time.â€

With it, Demidov not only helped turn around a rough game for the Canadiens; he also helped turn around a game he later said was not his best.

The pass to Suzuki, on a play where just about anyone else wouldâ€ve shot, was brilliant. He made another one to Slafkovsky to tie the game 2-2 just 1:50 into the third period. And then the 19-year-old Russian made several other deceptive ones and just missed scoring on an open net on the teamâ€s final power play to create the momentum Matheson capitalized on at five-on-five seconds later to put the Canadiens up 3-2.

Less than three minutes after that, Demidov completed his best even-strength shift of the night with a one-timer that proved to be the winning goal after a late surge netted the Canucks a goal off Conor Garlandâ€s stick.

But it all started with a power play that came into the game ranked 22nd in the NHL and came out of it ranked 12th.

Hutson, who runs the middle of the point of the top unit, said whatâ€s happening on both sides of him opens all kinds of options that wouldnâ€t otherwise be there.

“I donâ€t think thereâ€s any great strategy (to defend Demidov across from Suzuki),†he said. “Theyâ€re both so dangerous, and theyâ€re kind of learning what works against different kills and all that stuff. So, I think, maybe just stay back and hope they donâ€t seam you.â€

Itâ€s what both Demidov and Suzuki are looking for.

“Heâ€s looking for a seam, heâ€s looking for someoneâ€s stick in the wrong spot so he can hit a seam, heâ€s looking for guys in space, and I try to get in space so I have space to get a puck,†Hutson said of Demidov, but he just as easily couldâ€ve been referring to Suzuki.

The deception with which both players operate makes them a lethal combination.

On this night, it was a life-saving one for the Canadiens.

Outside of the line of Kirby Dach, Joe Veleno and Bolduc, they didnâ€t have much of anything going at five-on-five, which made this game an outlier.

But there will be others like it, and for the Canadiens to know they can change the outcome as convincingly as they did with the man-advantage Saturday is to know they have a chance to win any game.

“Itâ€s great,†said Slafkovsky. “Thatâ€s what changed the momentum… There will be games where itâ€s not going to work fully. But I feel like if we get three chances, we need at least one from our power play every time.â€

So far, Montrealâ€s top unit is two-for-four. And though we wonâ€t read too deeply into such a small sample, we like its chances of scoring on one of every three.

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Jace McFaul and Hudson Darby each scored twice, and the Swift Current Broncos rebounded from a 3-0 first-period deficit to beat the visiting Vancouver Giants 7-5 in Western Hockey League action on Friday.

Stepan Kuryachenkov, Anthony Wilson and Connor Dale also scored for the Broncos (3-1-0-0), who trailed 3-1 after the first period but went into the third tied 5-5. Josh McGregor added three assists, while Noah Kosick and Dale each chipped in with a pair.

Jakob Oreskovic, Cameron Schmidt, Tobias Tomik, Ty Halaburda and Colton Alain scored for the Giants (1-3-0-0), who were outshot 32-31. Tyus Sparks chipped in with two assists.

The Broncos went 2-for 5 on the power play while the Giants were 1-for-4.

Elsewhere in the WHL on Friday:

MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Jack Toogood scored twice and Blake Fiddler and Lukas Sawchyn each had two assists as the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-1.

Miroslav Holinka, Ethan MacKenzie and Joe Iginla also scored for the Oil Kings (4-1-0-0), who were outshot 31-20. Oil Kings netminder Ethan Simcoe stopped 30 of 31 shots.

Aiden Ziprick scored for the Warriors (3-1-0-0), who trailed 3-0 after the first period and 5-0 heading into the third.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Kadon McCann scored the winner as the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers edged the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-2.

Yaroslav Bryzgalov, Noah Davidson and Misha Volotovskii also scored for the Tigers (3-1-0-0), who outshot the hosts 44-30.

Shane Smith and Hudson Kibblewhite scored for the Hurricanes (1-4-0-0), who trailed 2-1 after the first period and 4-2 heading into the third.

Hurricanes goaltender Koen Cleaver stopped 40 of 44 shots.

SASKATOON, Sask. — Zach Olsen scored the winner and Dustin Willhoft chipped in with two assists as the Saskatoon Blades knocked off the visiting Red Deer Rebels 4-2.

Hunter Laing, Rowan Calvert and Triston Mitchell-McElhone also scored for the Blades (3-2-0-0), who outshot the visitors 33-24.

Ty Coupland and Beckett Hamilton scored for the Rebels (1-3-0-0), who led 1-0 after the first period but trailed 2-1 heading into the third.

The Blades went 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Rebels were 0-for-2.

WENATCHEE, Wash. — Hayden Moore’s second goal of the game, scored at 1:22 of overtime, lifted the visiting Victoria Royals to a 5-4 win over the Wenatchee Wild.

Miles Cooper also scored twice for the Royals (3-0-1-0), while Roan Woodward added a single. Heath Nelson chipped in with two assists.

Maddix McCagherty, Luka Shcherbyna, Josh Fluker and Caelan Joudrey scored for the Wild (0-1-1-1), who were outshot 40-33 and trailed 1-0 after the first period and 3-1 heading into the third. Boston Taitand Blake Vanek each had two assists.

PENTICTON, B.C. — Matteo Danis had a goal and assist and the Penticton Vees held on to beat the visiting Portland Winterhawks 3-2.

Jacob Kvasnicka and Louis Wehmann also scored for the Vees (2-2-0-1), who led 3-0 in the third period before the Winterhawks rallied.

Nathan Free and Carsyn Dyck scored for the Winterhawks (1-3-0-0), who were outshot 33-23.

The Vees were 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Winterhawks went 1-for-5.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Kooper Gizowski scored a power-play goal at 12:22 of the third period to snap a 1-1 deadlock and lift the visiting Prince George Cougars to a 2-1 win over the Spokane Chiefs.

Terik Parascak also scored for the Cougars (3-0-0-0), who outshot the Chiefs 37-27.

Sam Oremba scored for the Chiefs (2-2-0-0), who went 0-for-5 with the man advantage, while the Cougars went 1-for-6.

Chiefs netminder Carter Esler stopped 35 of 37 shots, while Joshua Ravensbergen stopped 26 of 27 shots for the Cougars.

SILVERTIPS 7, AMERICANS 1

EVERETT, Wash. — Julius Miettinen had three goals and an assist as the Everett Silvertips squashed the visiting Tri-City Americans 7-1.

Matias Vanhanen had a goal and four assists for the Silvertips (3-0-1-0), while Zackary Shantz, Shea Busch and Jesse Heslop added singles. Jakub Seidl chipped in with two assists.

Charlie Elick scored for the winless Americans (0-3-0-0), who were outshot 57-27.

The Silvertips led 3-1 after the first period and 4-1 heading into the third.

THUNDERBIRDS 7, BLAZERS 4

SEATTLE, Wash. — Matej Pekar had two goals and an assist and Brendan Rudolph scored twice as the Seattle Thunderbirds knocked of the visiting Kamloops Blazers 7-4.

Antonio Martorana, Cameron Kuzma and Coster Dunn also scored for the Thunderbirds (2-2-0-0), who led 2-0 after the first period and 4-2 heading into the third. Tai Riley added three assists.

Jordan Keller scored three goals for the Blazers (3-1-0-0), while JP Hurlbert netted a single. Ryan Michael chipped in with three assists, while Nathan Behm added a pair.

Both teams had 37 shots on goal.

The T-Birds went 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Blazers were 3-for-10 with the man advantage.

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