A busy week for the Montreal Canadiens got busier with back-to-back road games in Nashville on Saturday and in Carolina on Sunday. The Predators are playing strong hockey with only three losses in their last 10 games, but they met their match against Montreal. The Canadiens dominated in every facet, winning 4-1.

Wilde Horses 

Ivan Demidov is levelling up — and the evidence isn’t in only in goals and assists. It’s in the ability to keep plays alive and earn time on the puck. Earlier this year, Demidov wasn’t getting enough touches five-on-five. He skated for much of the night not implicated in the play.

Late last week, Demidov started to battle for the puck with greater acumen. Puck-battling is a science of how to use the body, have strong balance on skates and angle off opponents. It’s not necessarily about brawn; it’s much more than that, and Demidov is figuring it out.

Demidov is also beginning to understand that when he is in open spaces, opponents can’t take the puck from him. He doesn’t have to immediately move it to someone else or relinquish control. He can keep it practically as long as he wants and wait until the lane opens up to a teammate. He was involved in four high-quality chances in the first period alone in Saturday’s game.

A lot of this often gets described as gaining confidence, but a better word is comfort. Demidov is getting comfortable with the idea that he can win the puck and then keep the puck. When his comfort is fully developed, he will be unstoppable. It’s already happening.

In the first period against the Predators, the Canadiens dominated, but only managed a single goal on a perfectly placed shot to the far side by Demidov for his 16th of the season. Demidov is tied for the rookie scoring lead with Beckett Sennecke and Matthew Schaefer at 56 points.

The rookie class is outstanding this season. Connor Bedard won the Calder Trophy two seasons ago with 61 points. Three players could surpass that total this year. Demidov’s ceiling is far higher than 60. If Nick Suzuki isn’t the first 100-point player for the Canadiens since 1986, then it will be Demidov.

Head coach Martin St. Louis is gaining confidence in Demidov for entirely different reasons. The head coach likes what he is seeing defensively.  Demidov is committed to what the head coach describes as the “non-negotiables.” That starts with understanding that before you get to shine on offence, you have to take care of your responsibilities on defence. Demidov is looking much better in this aspect of the game as well.

Mark this down as the week that Demidov began to get even more of an idea how to be a superstar in the NHL.

Demidov’s levelling up comes at exactly the right time for the Canadiens, who have been relying on the top line too much in the last three weeks. They needed the second line to contribute. They did in the second period as well, when Demidov won the puck with his speed on an expected icing call. That led to Alex Newhook feeding Oliver Kapanen for his 22nd of the season.

That line made the Predators look like figure skaters doing pirouettes as they counted again. Demidov rang it off the bar, got it back and fed Newhook for an easy tally. Five guys in yellow were caught watching the puck move like it was magic.

The top line also contributed. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky is a top-three line in the NHL right now. In 12 games since being reunited, the line has 22 goals.

In the second period, the Canadiens had been dominating, but only had two goals. Until the line went to work, that is. Caufield shouldered off his check. That led to Suzuki feeding Caufield for a little three-foot pass to free him. Caufield went five-hole for his 45th of the season.

The hot streak has led to a chance for some extremely lofty milestones for Caufield and Suzuki. Caufield is mathematically set up to get 50 goals, needing five in the final 10. Suzuki had two points to move to 88 on the season. He, too, is on pace, needing 12 points in the final 10 for the century mark.

Wilde Goats 

Jacob Fowler barely had to work for his success stopping 24 of 25 shots. He had a plus .77 Goals Saved Above Expected. It was absolute dominance from Montreal. The advanced stats told the story as the Kapanen line had an 87 shot share, with the Suzuki line at a 63 shot share. On defence, the Lane Hutson-Jayden Struble pair had a 92 Expected Goals share.

It was all Montreal. No goats.

Wilde Cards

It was an unusual night for the Canadiens’ top prospects still contesting in the playoffs. All eyes were on Michael Hage and the Michigan Wolverines to see if he would continue his season, making it difficult to see him coming to the Canadiens this spring.

All eyes didn’t even see him play. Hage took a shot off his leg last week in the Ohio State contest that completed the Wolverines romp through the competition in the Big 10 conference final. The coaching staff kept it quiet that the shot left Hage unable to play in Friday night’s regional semi-final in Albany.

The Wolverines won easily over Bentley (5-1) without Hage as TJ Hughes had another strong contest. The rumour is that the Canadiens are interested in signing Hughes, however, he is 24 years old and still a collegian. It’s a long shot at that age for any player to make a successful jump from college to the pros.

The Wolverines head to their Sunday afternoon final against Minnesota-Duluth, who edged Penn State 3-1 in the second semi-final of the region. Michigan won’t say whether Hage will be available, nor how serious his injury actually is.

If Michigan beats the Bulldogs on Sunday, they advance to the Frozen Four in mid-April in Las Vegas. That means Hage couldn’t arrive until the Canadiens playoffs. If Michigan loses, then GM Kent Hughes could sign Hage as soon as Monday.

Bryce Pickford also had an unexpected night in his first game of the playoffs in the Western Hockey League. That the Medicine Hat Tigers romped 6-2 over the Regina Pats was expected. That Pickford scored a goal was also expected. It was a goal in nine straight playoff games for him

What was unexpected, however, is that he didn’t play the last five minutes of the game after getting sandwiched between players. Pickford is an absolutely vital player to the Tigers success. His head coach did offer encouraging words in suggesting the score dictated not using Pickford for the rest of the game.

It appears the Tigers are simply being careful and the injury isn’t serious. Good news on the Pickford front, but on the Hage front, Michigan is being so secretive that there is really no idea how badly he is compromised by the shot off the leg.

We’ll know better when we see the starting line up for the regional final in Albany to see if Hage is playing. It was easy to rest Hage for Bentley. They were expected to be dominated, and they were. The Minnesota-Duluth game against Michigan is a pick-em. The Bulldogs looked well organized in shutting down Gavin McKenna ending his season for the Nittany Lions.