Since the start of the season, Ivan Demidov has played mainly on his club’s third trio.
Roman Rotenberg placed him on SKA’s fourth unit for a while, but that didn’t last.
But there, seeing that his player is performing well lately, Rotenberg made an interesting decision as he promoted Ivan Demidov to his team’s second line for today’s game.
Despite everything, Demidov had a quiet match.
He was not the attacker most used by his coach, but he still finished the game with four shots on goal.
Demidov was able to create things and we saw why his potential is so high:
In the end, the forward spent a total of 13 minutes and 55 seconds on the ice.
If we dissect each period, it looks like this:
- 5:07 in first period (six appearances)
- 4:35 in second period (five shifts)
- 4:13 in third period (eight appearances)
It is also relevant to note that Demidov was entitled to playing time on the power play… And his coach even sent him to the ice at the end of the game, when SKA needed a goal.
SKA ultimately lost by a score of 2-1, but knowing that Demidov is starting to be in his coach’s good graces, even if he was again cleared of the scoresheet, is good news.
Note, in closing, that Demidov now has 19 points (six goals) in 26 games this season in the KHL.
In burst
– Max Pacioretty is placed on the injured list in Toronto.
– Andreas Athanasiou will be placed on waivers today, according to Elliotte Friedman.
– Matvei Michkov will play this evening.
– Oh.
Canada
