Ivan Demidov and SKA were in action today against HC Sochi.
For those who made the connection, we are indeed talking about Matvei Michkov’s former club. This is where the Flyers player – who will be left out tonight by John Tortorella – played his last season in the KHL, after being loaned by the SKA.
But here, it is not Michkov who interests us. How did the CH hopeful’s match go, you might ask?
The striker, who has been having good times lately, was calmer in his meeting today.
He finished the game with only one shot on goal, but he was still used for almost 16 minutes (15:53) by his head coach.
Roman Rotenberg is starting to understand that he can be counted on if he needs a goal. At the end of the second period, Demidov was punished for holding… And seeing that, I told myself that his match was over because Rotenberg often nails him to the bench after seeing him do something stupid on the ice.
But no: the SKA head coach needed to create a spark in the third when his club was behind and he was not afraid to use Demidov.
Oh, and the CH prospect, who now has 19 points in 25 games, even had the opportunity to play on the power play:
I wonder if Roman Rotenberg has a fever…
On a more serious note, to see that Demidov is getting the playing time he deserves is good news.
Remember that he only spent 8 minutes and 27 seconds on the ice in his last game… But here, Demidov played more than 14 minutes in five of his last six games.
So much the better!
At least, that should please Kent Hughes and the CH, who are supposed to visit him in Russia soon.
Besides… I have the impression that Roman Rotenberg knows that the CH visit is approaching and that is perhaps why we see Demidov being used so much recently, even if he logically deserves it.
In burst
– Cale Makar might not play tonight. That remains to be seen.
– Snipe!
– The question comes up often lately.
– Loke Johansson signs his entry-level contract with the Bruins.
