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The change Canadiens’ Ivan Demidov made before scoring 1st career playoff goal
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- The change Canadiens’ Ivan Demidov made before scoring 1st career playoff goal
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Ivan Demidov changed the color of his stick tape in Game 5 against the Buffalo Sabres , and it led to him scoring the biggest goal of his career thus far in a 6-3 Montreal Canadiens victory at the KeyBank Center on Thursday night.
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The Russian had gone 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games without a goal despite getting a plethora of chances through nearly two rounds, but he was finally able to bust the slump in Western New York.
It was his first postseason tally in 17 tries overall, and helped the Habs get within one win of a potential first trip to the Eastern Conference Final in five years.
The Canadiens now lead the series 3-2, and have an opportunity to silence the Sabres in Game 6 at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.
“Our goalie (Jakub) Dobes didn’t like the black tape. He said I should use the white one,” Demidov told reporters after the triumph, per NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger.
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“I guess it worked. It’s a tough process because every game you have a chance to score, and then you don’t. I just kept trying to do my best. And then to score, well, it was such a relief.”
Demidov scored 19 goals in the 2025-26 regular season, and will hope the important tally opens the floodgates as Montreal looks to make a deep run this year.
“We were happy for ‘Demi,'” said head coach Martin St. Louis . “I feel Demi’s been really good in this series overall but he hasn’t been rewarded for it. I felt tonight he was all over it. You could tell he’s been building his game, and it was just a matter of time. I was happy it was tonight.
“I’ve been very pleased with Demi, because it’s not just the offensive stuff that comes out, you know, that’s flashy and stuff, but he actually plays the game well defensively and he values that.”
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Six different players scored for the Canadiens, with the final two goals coming with the man advantage. The atmosphere in downtown Montreal promises to be electric as the Habs try to advance to the East Final — where the Carolina Hurricanes await — on Saturday.
Related: Canadiens’ Game 5 comeback adds to Stanley Cup-winning trend
Related: Nick Suzuki’s ‘excited’ message on Game 6 in front of ‘crazy’ Canadiens fans
