The Montreal Canadiens had luck on their side throughout the 2025-26 season as none of their big stars missed any time on the sidelines due to an injury, allowing them to remain healthy, for the most part, enroute to the Eastern Conference Final in May.
It's hard to have that luck on the injury front, especially with how long and grueling a now-84 game season can be. Now, the Montreal Canadiens' top-six are going to face a big test as they'll be without former fifth overall pick Ivan Demidov for the next little while.
Montreal Canadiens Announce Injury to Forward Ivan Demidov
Yesterday morning, the Montreal Canadiens hit the ice in Brossard for practice ahead of Tuesday's home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes and there was a very notable absence - Ivan Demidov. The Canadiens announced just as practice was getting underway that Demidov would not participate, calling it a therapy day.
After practice, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis wasn't sure if Ivan Demidov would be playing in the home opener, saying "it's a therapy day today, we'll see" when asked by reporters.
Just as the team was getting onto the ice for the morning skate on Tuesday, there was no sign of Ivan Demidov again and as fans were wondering what was going on with the 20-year-old winger, the Canadiens shared an unfortunate update on their social media accounts.
According to the Canadiens, Ivan Demidov will miss the next two-to-four weeks with a lower-body injury. It's unclear when or how Demidov sustained this injury, or how long the Sergiyev Posad has been dealing with it.
"Forward Ivan Demidov (lower body) will be out for two to four weeks." the Canadiens said in a post on X.
L'attaquant Ivan Demidov (bas du corps) ratera de deux à quatre semaines d'activité.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 6, 2026
Forward Ivan Demidov (lower body) will be out for two to four weeks.
With the Canadiens confirming that Demidov has a lower-body injury, many are curious if it relates back to the blocked shot in a game against the Ottawa Senators in preseason that caused him to miss back-to-back days of practice, with the club calling those at the time "therapy days."
Based on the timeline provided by the Canadiens, Demidov could be back anywhere from Tuesday, October 20th against the San Jose Sharks to Tuesday, November 3rd against the Winnipeg Jets.
According to Sportsnet's Eric Engels, Kirby Dach was in Ivan Demidov's place at the morning skate and will be on the second line with Newhook and Slafkovsky this evening. Dach also stood in for Demidov at yesterday's practice, giving fans a preview of what the line could look like if the latter was going to miss some time.
Aside from the Kreider-Suzuki-Caufield line, there are plenty of changes throughout the forward group ahead of tonight's home opener. Florian Xhekaj will make his season debut tonight alongside Jake Evans and Josh Anderson. Meanwhile, Phillip Danault will center a line featuring Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier.
The defensive pairings remain untouched from the team's first two games of the 2026-27 season. Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson are on the top pairing, Lane Hutson and Alexandre Carrier are on the second, while Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj round things out. Adam Engstrom will remain a healthy scratch for tonight's game against the Hurricanes.
Meanwhile, it appears that Jakub Dobes will get the start in goal. It'll be Dobes' third start of the 2026-27 campaign after a win in Toronto on opening night one week ago and an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. The Canadiens are keeping their goaltending situation under wraps, but it certainly feels like they've already determined that Jakub Dobes will be their number one guy, which is no surprise given his performance during the regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025-26.
As for backup Samuel Montembeault, his season debut will likely come next week as the Canadiens have back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals, respectively.
Puck drop for tonight's home opener at the Bell Centre is set for 7 pm ET on TSN2 and RDS.