1 week Ago
MONTREAL — Monday had the makings of a forgettable day for the Chicago Blackhawks. They could have used Ivan Demidov, who they passed on in last year’s draft, making his NHL debut against anyone else. But instead there were 21,000 Montreal Canadiens fans chanting his name and creating a playoff-like buzz every time he stepped foot on the ice.
When he scored his first NHL goal in the first period, the building felt like it did when the Blackhawks won their last Stanley Cup. Advertisement It didn’t help either that the Canadiens were battling for a playoff spot and had the opportunity to clinch a wild-card position with a victory. The Demidov factor plus the pending playoff berth equaled an environment most of the Blackhawks had never experienced before.
Electric was the word most used to describe it. And that electricity drove the Canadiens and stunned the Blackhawks for most of the first period Monday. The Canadiens jumped out to a 2-0 lead and it felt like another goal could be the deciding blow.
History certainly said it was probable. It was just a week ago the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the visiting Blackhawks 5-0 and brought the Blackhawks to a team meeting. But that wouldn’t be the case again.
The Blackhawks turned Monday’s game on its head and made into one of their most memorable wins of the season, defeating the Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout and putting a damper on Demidov’s debut and at least delaying the Canadiens’ playoff berth. Let’s dive into the hows and whys. 1.
Demidov is the real deal. He was dynamic whenever he touched the puck. He had a goal and a primary assist and could have had a few more points on other chances.
Of course, that is going to bring out all the people said the Blackhawks should have drafted Demidov with the No. 2 pick instead of Artyom Levshunov. There were plenty of those type of comments on social media Monday.
None of this is surprising, though. Demidov was always going to be ahead of Levshunov based on his position and where he was developmentally. The Blackhawks drafted Levshunov because of where they projected him in future years and how they were building the team that would be around him.
The Levshunov-Demidov debate is fair game, but leave it alone for a few years until the whole picture is known. How the Blackhawks are constructed, who they drafted with another top-four pick and how other forwards develop has to all be weighed along with the individual performances of Demidov and Levshunov. 2.
All eyes were on Demidov, but Frank Nazar may have stolen the show. Nazar has been trending this way the last month, but it was another all-around performance that should give the Blackhawks a lot of hope in his future. He was by far the Blackhawks’ best player.
Nazar created scoring chances for himself. He did it for others. He factored into the power play, scoring off a one-timer.
He was dangerous on the penalty kill. He helped the Blackhawks create an edge in possession at five-on-five. As Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno put it, Nazar drove the bus for the Blackhawks.
Advertisement “Like I said, not even that goal, Frank played a really, really mature, solid game tonight,” Foligno said. “You see what he can do and how heimpacts the game. He was a part of every goal.
It’s really, really exciting to see what he’s bringing and encouraging for years to come.” 3. Nazar was also part of an odd sequence during the shootout.
Nazar took his attempt and thought he scored. No one else did. “Frank was actually mad at all of us because we didn’t respond to his goal,” Foligno said.
“He’s like, I scored. I think I actually said, nice try. He’s looked at me, he’s like, I scored.
I’m like, what? Everyone’s like, what?” While that confusion was happening, the next Canadiens shooter was already going. It was then the ref stopped everyone. “I’m glad the refs stepped up and went and looked at it,” Nazar said.
“Obviously couldn’t find the puck, so it’s good that they went and did that. No one knew it went in — everyone’s kinda saying, ‘Aw, nice try, blah blah blah,’ chirping me for going through the line, thinking I didn’t score. I’m glad it went in.
Once everybody found out, they were super happy and super nice.” For the record, it did go in. 4.
Monday’s atmosphere will be one a lot of the young Blackhawks will never forget, and will seek to recreate for the rest of their careers. Nazar was blown away by the Canadiens fans’ reaction to Demidov. “It was pretty nuts,” Nazar said.
“The building was going nuts every time he got on the ice, and then when he touched the puck, it was another level. When he scored, it’s a completely different level. It’s pretty exciting to see.
If that’s what playoff hockey is going to sound like, I’m really excited for that in the future.” It wasn’t just the young players, though. Advertisement “That was awesome,” Foligno said.
“That’s just what Montreal’s all about. This is one of the best rinks in the world. It lives up to the hype every time that I play here.
I absolutely love coming to this building. The way the fans create an atmosphere is a special place. I hope no one ever gets used to that because it’s amazing how they can create such an atmosphere here for hockey.
They’re true fans. They love their fans and it’s fun to be on the other side. I can’t imagine what it feels like being on their team.
” 5. The analytics supported the eye test with Nazar, too. NHL GameScore Impact Card for Chicago Blackhawks on 2025-04-14: pic.
twitter.com/y6l3PwrdI7 — HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) April 15, 2025 6. The Blackhawks hadn’t won many games like Monday’s this season.
They had won four times and lost 22 times when trailing after one period this season heading into the game. What the Canadiens did early wasn’t a surprise, but how the Blackhawks responded was. “You knew they were going to push,” Foligno said.
“That was exciting for us. That’s probably the most momentous game that we’ve had, like a game that mattered. It was nice to be a part of it and not see our guys get overwhelmed by the moment.
Obviously they have a push at the beginning, but we just stay with it and we have some big power-play goals and then get another one. “It’s really encouraging to see our group find a way to come through in a time where maybe our habits and attitude doesn’t allow us to in games previous. I’m taking the positive out of that and really encouraged by our team.
” 7. The Blackhawks’ comeback began with a well-connected power play. Connor Bedard entered the zone and got it to Nazar, who found Tyler Bertuzzi.
8. Ryan Greene made his NHL debut for the Blackhawks and was solid. His hockey IQ stood out.
He seemed to understand where to be. Like a lot of the young Blackhawks, Greene needs to put on muscle and weight. It was everything Greene dreamed of.
“It was super cool, especially in this rink,” Greene said. “It was jumping in there. It was really exciting.
I’m happy the boys brought me in, welcomed me in. It took a little bit for me to get settled in, but once I got settled in, I felt really good.” Advertisement The Blackhawks and Greene are thankful he’s a Canadian citizen.
If he wasn’t, it would have been a red-tape challenge for him to play in Canada so quickly after signing with the team on Sunday. 9. Sam Rinzel continues to get so close to his first NHL goal.
11. The line of Landon Slaggert, Joe Veleno and Lukas Reichel had a rough first period as they were on the ice for both of the Canadiens’ goals. They redeemed themselves by pulling the Blackhawks ahead 3-2 on this goal.
12. The Blackhawks didn’t exactly agree with a penalty on Connor Murphy late in the third period that led to the Canadiens tying the game at 3-3 with a power-play goal. “I think it was disrespectful to Murph,” Foligno said.
“It’s just a battle that we got called for that one. It’s just the way it goes. It just sucks because we played such a good game as a team and deserved to probably win in regulation or at least to have a chance to win in regulation.
“I’m proud of our guys. That to me showed growth in our group. To get them score one late and to come back and find a way to get a win in the shootout is an exciting time for this group.
The composure that our young players have, the mix of young and old right now is really working for us and it’s exciting.” 13. How the Blackhawks are finishing the season has to reflect somewhat well on interim coach Anders Sörensen.
He probably has an outside shot to keep the job, but the team has been far from quitting on him. “Honestly, I thought we played well,” Sörensen said. “I thought five-on-five we did a lot of good things.
Obviously it was a little bit of special teams, scored two goals on the power play and (Söderblom) was good when we needed him. Advertisement “We felt like even after the first we were playing OK. It was electric in here.
It was loud and you couldn’t hear anything, but I thought for a young group they handled it really well. I think that goal (in the first period) was huge to come out after the first. We felt like, hey, we’re doing a lot of good things here.
” 14. Blackhawks goalie Arvid Söderblom deserves some attention for Monday’s win, which included stopping three shots in a shootout, but more so about his season. Monday was likely his last game of the season.
After starting with a 5-22-2 record with an .880 save percentage in 32 games, he probably would have gone to Rockford this season if it wasn’t for Laurent Brossoit’s injury. Söderblom bounced back with a 10-18-7 record with an .
898 save percentage in 33 games and likely put himself in the goalie mix for next season. 15. Of everything Nazar did Monday, his most impressive feat may have been leaping Bertuzzi to avoid a collision.
(Photo: David Kirouac / Imagn Images).
