MONTREAL — After Lane Hutson had spent about 10 minutes answering questions about the remarkable play he made in crunch time, setting up Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki for an empty net tap in with 20.1 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, he was asked about another.
It was a play by his remarkable teammate, rookie Ivan Demidov, at the offensive blue line, where Demidov evaded a Florida Panthers check to get into space and create a dangerous situation out of nothing.
“When he slipped a check with his hips?” Hutson asked.
Well, no. That wasn’t the play. But that Hutson needed more specificit was a telling sign of just how special this game was from Demidov, a 4-3 shootout win that was not entirely deserved. But it came at a critical time of year and featured these two young, like-minded talents, so joined at the hip, helping to pull a win out of thin air.
The actual play in question was when Demidov received a pass at the offensive blue line at the start of the second period and immediately spun, catching Panthers defenceman Tobias Björnfot flat-footed and forcing him to slash Demidov as he cut to the net. Demidov tied the game on the ensuing power play off a one-timer from distance.
The play Hutson wanted to talk about was another ridiculous move on an entry, with Demidov opening his hips at full speed to make the surface area his opponent had to hit much thinner, then continuing on his way with the puck once that opponent inevitably missed the check.
“It’s kind of like, ‘How’s he doing it so smooth?’” Hutson said. “I feel like I do something similar, but mine’s choppy. He just kind of glides his hip right through it and gets out of it way faster than me. I need to get the motor going after I make the fake, his motor stays. It’s just smooth.”
Demidov had begun every game he’s played this season with Oliver Kapanen as a linemate until Tuesday night, when coach Martin St. Louis moved Kapanen to the wing on the fourth line, shifted Alex Newhook to centre and put Alexandre Texier on the left wing. Texier, returning after a seven-game injury absence, has a super-power: puck protection. It translates to extended offensive zone time for whichever line he plays on, allowing him to play up and down the lineup.
Texier generally allows his line to spend more time in the offensive zone. That’s been a big problem for Demidov’s line more or less all season.
More offensive-zone time means more offensive-zone touches. More offensive-zone touches means more opportunities for Demidov to express his incredible talent.
“That’s what Tex can do,” St. Louis said. “And I feel now, when you extend and the other team gets a little tired, now (Demidov) gets a touch and he’s got a little bit of space, he’s tough to handle. We’ve got to get it to that, we’ve got to create more instances for him.”
So now, let’s go back to Hutson’s play at the end of regulation. This is the moment the play was made, with Hutson immediately picking up speed as soon as he got the puck in the neutral zone with the Canadiens net empty. The key is to look at the feet of Panthers defenceman Seth Jones as Hutson moves towards him. They’re both moving to the left. That’s a problem for Jones, because if Hutson is too, both players are moving in opposite directions.
Half a second later, Hutson is gone.
Hutson made Jones believe that was how he had to move. It was very subtle and very quick, but Jones took his cue and made his decision, and then Hutson used it against him.
“I don’t think he necessarily had to go that way in general, but when you see someone move, you’re like, ‘Well, I’ve got to move too,’” Hutson said. “He’s a good defender, but it’s just such a tough spot to be in when I have that much space and speed.”
Hutson’s pal, his roommate on the road, his hockey soulmate, Demidov, could only smile when asked to describe what he saw on that play.
“I mean, that play shows how skilled and how good he is,” Demidov said. “On this goal (there was) everything, his speed, his hands, his IQ when he moved the goalie, he tried to find (Suzuki), and he did. Obviously he’s a so skilled guy. Fun to watch, yeah.”
Jones, as Hutson mentioned, is an excellent defender. Hutson and Demidov put such NHL players in tough spots all the time, and they do it in very similar ways, Hutson with that deception he displayed for an instant in the neutral zone, and Demidov with the hip manipulation he used on those zone entries. Both bend the game to their own purposes by messing with their opponents’ expectations.
Demidov turned 20 four months ago, Hutson turned 22 on Valentine’s Day. If they’re doing this now, it’s hard to imagine what they will be able to do when they reach full maturity.
This win the Canadiens didn’t necessarily deserve pulled them into a three-way tie for the Atlantic Division lead with the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning with 102 points. The Lightning, who lost 6-2 to the Senators in Ottawa on Tuesday, are the Canadiens’ next opponent Thursday night.
The Canadiens know they will need to play better to have any hope of winning that critical game. But as “flat” as they played, as St. Louis described it, they kept it close enough to make the game salvageable.
“When you keep it close, with the cards we have, the talent we have, we know we can go get those goals,” he said, “because we have players who like those moments.”
As the Canadiens prepare for the playoffs and fight to win the division, it is comforting to know the talent is there. It is not limited to Demidov and Hutson, and that’s the beauty of where the Canadiens sit right now.
But on this night, it was Hutson and Demidov who carried the Canadiens.
“There’s not too many guys that move the way they do,” Suzuki said. “They’re able to have just a ton of deception with the puck. It comes from a lot of training and skill work that they’ve done their whole lives growing up, so it’s nothing new for them.
“But it’s pretty impressive to watch.”