Monday night was the highly anticipated debut of Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov. It was not certain he'd make his way to the Canadiens following his KHL season but the contract situation was figured out and he was in the lineup as Montreal hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Demidov started the game on a line with Alex Newhook and Joel Armia, and is starting on the second power-play unit, though he was moved all around the lineup all game long.

It didn't take Demidov long to make an impact as he assisted on an Alex Newhook goal just six minutes into the game and 7:32 later he scored a goal of his own:

Paraît qu'il y en a qui veulent revoir ce but?

We heard there was a request to see this goal again#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/bZ8Z51vCfT

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 14, 2025

I watched this game from start to finish and Demidov was easily the most dangerous Candiens all night long. Not only did he not look out of place, he excelled.

This is still the Montreal Canadiens, though, and they lost to Chicago 4-3 in a shootout. Chicago fought back from the 2-0 deficit with power-play goals from Tyler Bertuzzi and Frank Nazar (who also assisted the Bertuzzi goal) while Lukas Reichel scored his eighth of the year. Nazar, in particular, looked like an absolute force all game long. He now has nine points in his last 10 games and has generally looked very, very good after getting a handful of games under his belt. This kid is going to be excellent for a long time.

Arvid Soderblom stopped 18 of the 21 shots against for the win.

Juraj Slafkovsky scored Montreal's third goal, making it 10 goals and 10 assists in his last 25 games.

Sam Montembeault took the loss, allowing three goals on 25 shots faced.

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A positive step for Ottawa forward Brady Tkachuk:

The Senators superstar has been battling injury since the Four Nations break but, if all goes well, it seems as if he may be ready for the start of the postseason.

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Dallas gave us an update on Miro Heiskanen, I guess:

We are at the time of the season where we get things like "never not expected" and "hopeful to play" and so on and so on. We won't get a firm timeline on anything until Dallas' season ends one way or another, but I am operating as if Heiskanen is out for at least the first round. More on him and the Stars a bit later.

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Quinn Hutson, brother of Lane and Cole, made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night. We will see where things stand when the team is healthy – they had a pile of guys sitting on Monday night – but it's a chance for him to make a good impression as the team heads to the playoffs.

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Sam Bennett was back in the lineup for Florida on Monday night. They had a bunch of regulars back while others sat as they continue to rest their players leading to the postseason.

The New York Rangers welcomed Matthew Robertson to the lineup and they took a 5-3 win in Florida. Juuso Parssinen, Matt Rempe, and JT Miller all registered a goal and an assist while Jonny Brodzinski and Vincent Trocheck both scored. That gives Miller 34 points in 31 games with the Rangers, as he's been excellent offensively with his new team.

K'Andre Miller had two assists, two shots, three blocks, and two PIMs in a very solid multi-cat night.

Jonathan Quick stopped 27 of 30 shots for the win.

Sam Reinhart scored twice (once on the PP) and Carter Verhaeghe had the other tally for the Panthers. Reinhart needs one more goal for his first career 40-40 season.

Sergei Bobrovsky was in net for all five goals against on 25 shots faced.

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Detroit was at home to Dallas on Monday night and the Red Wings lit up the Stars for six goals in a 6-4 win. Both Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider had a goal and two assists with Raymond assisting on a Seider power-play goal. Seider finished the night with two shots, a block, and a hit as well. Those three points also give him 43 on the year, his highest mark since hitting 50 as a rookie back in 2021-22.

Jonatan Berggren registered a goal and an assist while each of Alex DeBrincat, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Albert Johansson found the goal column.

Cam Talbot stopped 24 of the 28 pucks shot his way for his 21^st win of the season.

Dallas got goals from Lian Bichsel, Wyatt Johnston, Evgenii Dadonov, and Colin Blackwell in the loss. They also rested both Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell once again.

Johnston's goal was his 33^rd of the year, surpassing his total from last season. Not a bad surge from a player who had just three goals when December started.

Jake Oettinger allowed five goals on 36 shots in defeat.

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The Utah Utes brough the hammer down on Nashville by popping seven goals and taking a 7-3 win. Their top line did a lot of the damage as Clayton Keller had two goals and two assists (one PP) while Logan Cooley posted a goal, two assists, a shot, and a block. That pushes Keller to 89 points on the season, needing one point in his final game for his first career 90-point effort. It also gives him his first career 60-assist season.

Kevin Stenlund scored once, added an assist, posted two shots, a block, two PIMs, and a hit in a very balanced fantasy effort.

Nick Bjugstad, Nick Schmaltz, and Michael Kesselring scored the other goals. Kesselring added an assist, totaled four shots, managed one block, and posted a pair of PIMs, too.

Matt Villalta earned his first career NHL with, stopping 27 of 30 shots.

Ryan O'Reilly tallied a goal and an assist for Nashville as Michael Bunting and Luke Evangelista also scored. Evangelista has 11 points in his last 12 games as he's caught fire to end the season.

Juuse Saros gave up six goals on 35 shots for his 31^st loss of the season, which will end the year as the most in the NHL.

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Edmonton sat about half their lineup and the result was a 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. That locks the Kings into the second spot in the Pacific Division, giving them home-ice advantage against the Oilers.

Adrian Kempe posted a goal and two assists (both on the PP), while Warren Foegele and Kevin Fiala each had a goal and an assist. That goal from Fiala gives him 35 for the campaign, his first time reaching that plateau, and moving him into the top-20 for goal scoring.

Quinton Byfield and Vladislav Gavrikov scored the other goals for the Kings. After a slow start to the season, Byfield has 19 goals and 23 assists in his last 50 games going back four months. His even strength points per 60 minutes in that span is 24^th among regular forwards and higher than names like Mark Scheifele, Clayton Keller, Wyatt Johnston, and Nick Suzuki.

Darcy Kuemper was pulled with 12 minutes left as the Kings had the game firmly in hand. He stopped 16 of 16 shots up to that point which earned him his 31^st win.

Calvin Pickard gave up five goals on 36 shots in Edmonton's net.

Byfield left the game in the second period and did not return after Darnell Nurse cross-checked him in the back of the head/neck. Nurse got five minutes and was ejected so we'll see if there's any supplemental discipline before playoffs start.

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Vancouver tied their game with San Jose about halfway through the third period and then Jake DeBrusk scored his 28^th of the season to give the Canucks a 2-1 overtime win. That gives DeBrusk a career-high goal total and, barring a miraculous game from Brock Boeser in Vancouver's season finale on Wednesday, he will lead the team in goals this season.

Linus Karlsson scored Vancouver's other goal. Quinn Hughes assisted the OT winner, posting five shots and a block along the way. Regardless of what happens in the team's last game, Hughes will end the campaign with at least 1.12 points per game, which is what he did last year.

Nikita Tolopilo made his first career NHL start, and earned his first career NHL win, stopping 15 of 16 shots he faced in the Canucks' net.

Macklin Celebrini was the only player to beat Tolopilo, scoring his 25^th goal of the campaign. He becomes the first 18-year-old to score at least 25 goals since Auston Matthews (40) and Patrik Laine (36) both did it in 2017.

Alexandar Georgiev faced 37 shots, and was very good, allowing just two to get past him, but took the loss nonetheless.

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Playoffs start on Saturday, April 19^th and we already know what some of the matchups are going to be. Most of the seeding is still up for grabs but there are three first-round encounters already set in stone: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche, and Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings. Let's take a look at two of them: Carolina/New Jersey and Dallas/Colorado. Data from Natural Stat Trick and Frozen tools, and as of Monday afternoon.

Carolina (vs. New Jersey)

Carolina has had a very un-Carolina-like season. By goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, they sit 20^th in the league and are worse than teams like Boston and Detroit. Last year, they were 7^th and across the prior three seasons they averaged 2^nd. This is a team that is much more leaky defensively than normal, which is what makes their signing of Alexander Nikishin much more intriguing.

What shouldn't be discounted for Carolina, though, is how good their special team play still is. On the season, Carolina is giving up the fewest goals against per minute of penalty kill time as their PK has been as good as it usually is. The power play did struggle in the middle of the campaign, but since adding Taylor Hall to the top PP unit, the they are scoring 11.5 goals per 60 minutes, which is 29% higher than it was without him. Overall, Carolina's special teams are +4 since the Trade Deadline and that can help mask their 5-on-5 issues.

New Jersey (vs. Carolina)

The Devils got out to a great start but hit a skid in the middle of the season and then the injuries started happening: Jonas Siegenthaler on February 4^th, Jack Hughes on March 2^nd, and Dougie Hamilton on March 4^th. Through to the end of December, the Devils were eighth by both shots and goals-for per 60 minutes at all strengths. In calendar 2025, the Devils are 29^th by shots per 60 minutes, and dead last by goals per 60 minutes. Teams don't need to be offensive juggernauts to succeed, but being last in goal scoring for half a season certainly doesn't bode well.

The good news is that it appears Dougie Hamilton is close to returning as he was warming up with the team before their game on Sunday. That certainly is a boost, but without Hughes, this team is still without not only its top offensive talent, but one of the top offensive talents in the league. If New Jersey doesn't have the offensive juice to exploit Carolina's one defensive weakness, they will need their goaltending to be superb.

Dallas (vs. Colorado)

Much like New Jersey, injuries in Dallas have greatly changed the outlook for this team, with Heiskanen at the top of the list. What also hurts is not having Nils Lundkvist. While he is nowhere near the Heiskanen level of impact, until Lundkvist was injured (January 21^st), Dallas was outscoring the opposition 20-16 at 5-on-5 with Lundkvist on the ice, controlling 53.4% of the shots. That is solid work for a guy used in a third-pair role.

Since the injuries to Heiskanen and Lundkvist, Dallas is 31^st by shots against per minute at 5-on-5 with only Anaheim ranking worse. By goals against per minute, they are 16^th, and that is with the 7^th-best save percentage. Had it not been for excellent goaltending, the goals against would be well below average. Dallas is good enough offensively to go toe-to-toe with any team in the league, but significant injuries to the blue line have made them very wobbly defensively.

Colorado (vs. Dallas)

Considering where they were four months ago, it is curious that of these two teams, Colorado is likely to head into the postseason the healthiest. We still don't know the status of Nathan MacKinnon, who was shut down for the final few games, but assuming he is good to go, the team will have him, Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Sam Girard, and Mackenzie Blackwood all good to go. They may even be getting Gabriel Landeskog back after his three-year absence as he returned to game action in the AHL. If both MacKinnon and Landeskog are back for Game 1 of the postseason, it could give Colorado the best top two lines in the league.

Colorado had awful goaltending to start the season and overhauled their netminding tandem in early December. Since December 1^st, they are 4^th in the league by points percentage and 2^nd by goal share (Tampa Bay is at the top). As long as MacKinnon is healthy for the start of the postseason, and given the injuries to Dallas, this is a matchup where Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger will need to steal a couple of games for the Stars to advance.