Ivan Demidov to play on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s wing in SKA’s final regular season game

Ivan Demidov, and SKA St. Petersburg square off against Bogdan Konyushkov, and Torpedo Novgorod Nizhny in the final outing of the regular season.

After being healthy scratched by SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg in the team’s last game, citing a lack of physicality, Demidov returns to the lineup. Evgeny Kuznetsov is also in for injured captain Alexander Nikishin. 

Demidov will play on the second line with two veterans - Kuznetsov and Mikhail Grigorenko. The puck drop is set for 10 a.m. for those watching in North America. Give or take, depending on the time zone.

Either way, this game, an important one for Demidov, is his last chance to hit 50 points, and he should have plenty of opportunity to try and net his 20th goal of the season. With Demidov in the lineup, thoughts of hope ahead of SKA's playoff run begin to spark. It seemed the other day that Rotenberg might not play Demidov during the playoffs.

An odd decision, in every sense; as Demidov leads the team in scoring, and that is the most important thing to do during the postseason, when a win or loss is so much more important. Earning a win could be the difference between packing it in early, or pushing towards extending a series.

Safe to say, Demidov's performance will be under Rotenberg's microscope.

Onto the game

Demidov's first period was relatively quiet, and SKA was dominated in the shot department, but they went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead over Torpedo. It wasn't for lack of trying on the hopeful Calder Trophy favourite for the 2025-26 NHL season. Check out his brilliant solo effort below, in an attempt to score, Demidov put the opposing defence in a blender.

Torpedo and SKA had offsetting majors - for Nikita Zaitsev and Yevgeny Svechnikov’s fight.

Then Bogdan Konyushkov took a hooking penalty, sending SKA to the man advantage. Nothing came out of it, however.

Torpedo scores the tying goal with under two minutes to play in the second period.

In typical SKA fashion, they are off to the penalty box during the ensuing sequence. With just under 1:30 left on the clock.

SKA rides a 1-0 lead into first intermission.

Second Period

Torpedo and SKA had offsetting majors - for Nikita Zaitsev and Evgeny Svechnikov’s fight.

Then Konyushkov took a hooking penalty, sending SKA to the man advantage. Nothing came out of it, however.

Torpedo scores the tying goal with under two minutes to play in the second period.

In typical SKA fashion, they are off to the penalty box during the ensuing sequence. With just under 1:30 left on the clock.

It was a quiet period for Demidov, who registered zero shots and was mostly glued to the bench. With SKA on the kill, early and often, Demidov watches his team kill penalties over and over.

He has looked confident; a great sign, considering SKA will need offense in the playoffs. Perhaps the trio of him, Kuznetsov and Grigorenko will be left intact beyond today's game.

In any event, there isn't much to say about the second period, in terms of Demidov updates.

Third Period

The first five minutes came and went, and the score remained the same, with both teams trading chances. But the goaltender's have held their ground.

Demidov is coasting around Torpedo's net, and in a cool move, not sure if it was done for any reason. But Konyushkov has been on the ice, and he and Demidov have had a few battles. A bit of a glimpse into the future, with both players young and hungry ahead of the playoffs.

Svechnikov was a thorn in Zaitsev's side during the second period, and he continued his pesky ways, drawing his squad ahead of SKA with a goal just after the ten-minute mark.

SKA finds themselves trailing, and Demidov, who has limited ice time, could be a huge factor for Rotenberg's squad, as the third period winds down.

Nine minutes remain on the clock, and SKA is still searching for the tying goal. To this point, they have done so sparingly with Demidov on the ice.

Once again, Rotenberg's undisciplined squad is back on the penalty kill, down 2-1, with 7:10 remaining in the final frame.

Kuznetsov almost finished off a great pass from Zakhar Bardakov, who just got out of the box. Kuznetsov tried to outwait the goaltender, before making a move to the backhand and trying to tuck it into an open net. But it didn't work out that way.

Nikita Artamonov, of Torpedo is off to the boxing for tripping up Matvei Korotky. SKA has pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. And Demidov is on the ice.

SKA defender Ilya Karpukhin tied the game after he was teed up on the right half-wall by Grigorenko. Marat Khairullin draws the secondary assist. With just over a minute left to play, SKA has tied up the game.

Overtime

With overtime looming, if Rotenberg decides to play Demidov, the rookie could have his final shot to score his 20th, if not, reach the 50-point plateau.

Just after the three-minute mark of overtime, Demidov is on the ice. He almost forced a turnover with a heavy, quick forecheck. Then he nearly set up the potential winner. 

Demidov had seen some significant ice time, and then Bardakov took a cross-checking penalty, with 1:10 on the clock. 

Likely signalling the end of Demidov’s game, with SKA stuck on the kill for the remainder of overtime. 

Overtime solved nothing, so shootout is next.

Shootout

Demidov was SKA’s fourth shooter, and he had a golden chance to pull his team ahead in the shootout, but he came up short on his attempt.

With the game still tied Khairullin shot twice in a row, missing the first attempt. 

But with the game on the line, No. 61 finished off Torpedo with a fantastic move, and great backhand finish upstairs.