If Martin St-Louis decides to leave Demidov out on Wednesday night, Theodore wouldn’t be surprised, and he’d consider it normal. In his opinion, Demidov is the kind of player who can easily be left out. He’s just arrived with the team, so he’s a player who hasn’t yet created chemistry with his teammates. Martin St-Louis doesn’t know him well enough yet, and it’s not in the playoffs that you want to start experimenting. Les amateurs de sports host Mario Langlois did, however, point to one excuse for Demidov’s performance: his trio mates. We all know that Patrik Laine isn’t very good at five-on-five, and that’s probably something that slows Demidov down. The problem remains, however, that now is not the time to mix your trios. The Suzuki and Dvorak trios are doing just fine, and Demidov isn’t the kind of player who can play on a fourth trio with Jake Evans and company. But you have to wonder whether the players the Habs are currently leaving out can really contribute more on the ice than Demidov. Oliver Kapanen is doing a good job, but I think Demidov is clearly superior. And as for Michael Pezzetta… it would be better to keep him in the stands. It’s also fair to say that leaving Demidov out could enrage many Canadiens fans. Many people are currently frustrated at seeing Arber Xhekaj left out. Adding fuel to the fire by removing Demidov from the lineup would be crazy. Despite all this, we should expect Demidov to remain in the lineup for the next game. – People already want to shuffle the lineup after only one playoff game.