Hockey
What a handsome man Demidov is! Copied Ovechkin and caught up with the main NHL talent
Ivan played a strong match against Pittsburgh.
Ivan Demidov is again in the spotlight. The match with Pittsburgh turned out to be painful for Montreal in terms of results, but very significant in content – especially for the 20-year-old Russian. A goal plus an assist, an active game and taking first place in the scoring race among NHL rookies.
Match in Pittsburgh
The away game against the Pittsburgh Penguins ended with a shootout loss for the Montreal Canadiens – 3:4. But moving away from the clean sheet, Demidov played one of his most notable matches of the season.
Ivan scored the puck and provided an assist, participating in two of Montreal’s three goals. In total, he spent 15:56 on the ice, finished the game with a +2 utility, converted one of two shots on target and added a power move to his statistics. For a player who averages 14:54 per game, this is a sign of maturity and trust from the coaching staff.
In the 24th minute, with the score 1:2, Ivan completed Juraj Slafkovskiy’s cross pass with a one-time throw from the right throw-in circle. A classic episode that immediately evoked associations with Alexander Ovechkin.
Novice race: Demidov caught up with the leader
These two points allowed the Russian to reach the mark of 28 (8+20) points in 36 matches. 19-year-old Anaheim forward Beckett Senneke has exactly the same number – albeit with a different distribution (11+17) and a larger average time on ice (16:36 versus 14:54 for Demidov). At the moment, Demidov and Senneke share first place in the scoring race among NHL rookies. Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer is third with 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 36 games.
It is also important that Demidov scores points regularly, and many of his actions turn out to be key for the team. A very important indicator for the debut season.
“Pittsburgh” came to life without Malkin
The victory over Montreal allowed the Penguins to break an eight-game losing streak. An interesting detail: the team’s failures began immediately after Evgeni Malkin’s injury, and only now Pittsburgh was able to exhale.
In regulation time, Rickard Rakell, Noel Acciari and Sidney Crosby scored for the hosts, and the winning shootout went to the same Rakell. For Montreal, in addition to Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Noah Dobson scored, and Slafkovsky provided two assists.
On December 24, Pittsburgh will play away against Toronto, and Montreal will travel to Boston. For Demidov, this is another opportunity to confirm: his place among the leaders of the newcomers’ race is not an advance or a flash, but a logical continuation of a smooth and smart debut season. Without noise, but with results.
Source: Sportbox
I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.