Morning Coffee: Habs rookie Demidov gears up for NHL debut in Montreal

​After four months of magic, Habs Nation is ready to blow the roof off the Bell Centre tonight.

It’s nights like these that the city of Montreal feels like the centre of the hockey universe.

Rewind back to December 14th – the Montreal Canadiens were stuck in the basement of the Eastern Conference standings with an 11-16-3 record through 30 games.

The Canadiens have gone 28-15-7 in the 50 games since.

Tonight, Montreal can officially clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Chicago Blackhawks on home ice.

Their improbable turnaround has Habs fans buzzing about the prospect of a return to the postseason.

Now the Canadiens’ thrilling resurgence is about to get even spicier with rookie Ivan Demidov set to make his highly anticipated NHL debut at the Bell Centre tonight.

This is the Morning Coffee for Monday April 14th, 2025.

Habs Rookie Demidov Gears Up For NHL Debut In Montreal

The final week of the NHL regular season gets underway tonight with six games on the schedule.

None will have a bigger audience than in Montreal.

The Canadiens are three points up on the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot with two games remaining.

The Habs can officially clinch with a win tonight as a -275 favourite against the visiting Blackhawks at FanDuel.

As if that wasn’t enough to create an electric atmosphere at the Bell Centre, the potential for Montreal’s rookie phenom to score his first NHL goal in his debut on home ice adds another layer of excitement to tonight’s game.

Demidov anytime goal is +240 at FanDuel this morning.

A Same Game Parlay with Demidov to score a goal and the Canadiens to beat the Blackhawks is +270.

Demidov to score 2+ goals is +2000.

Demidov to score a hat-trick at 120-to-1 – down from 140-to-1 at FanDuel over the last 12 hours.

A Demidov hat-trick might register on the Richter scale.

While rival hockey fans have been quick to point out that the Habs are still +4000 to reach the Stanley Cup Final at FanDuel, the fact that this team is in the position they are in is more than enough to spark a sense of optimism.

Lane Hutson is the obvious Calder Trophy favourite.

He needs two assists over Montreal’s final two games to match the NHL record for the most in a season by a rookie defenceman.

Hutson to record 2+ assists tonight is +340 at FanDuel.

Hutson to break the record with 3+ assists is +1200.

Now Demidov joins him in the Canadiens lineup tonight.

Captain Nick Suzuki has registered the second-most points in the NHL since the 4 Nations Face-Off with 35.

Suzuki to record 1+ point tonight is -350 at FanDuel.

Cole Caufield has scored a career-high 37 goals.

Caufield anytime goal against Chicago is +140.

Finally, top prospect Jacob Fowler just stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced in his first AHL start with Laval.

Sam Montembault is 4-1-0 with a .928 save percentage in five April starts.

Jakub Dobes has stopped 70 of the 72 shots he’s faced in his last two starts.

Suddenly, the mid-December gloom is a distant memory.

It’s been replaced by a fiery optimism.

Regardless of what happens next, Habs fans will have plenty of positives to take away from this season.

The city of Montreal is buzzing right now with a couple more on deck tonight as the Canadiens attempt to officially clinch a playoff spot in Demidov’s debut.

For a FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll lock in a Same Game Parlay with Hutson to record a point and the Habs to win outright at -125 odds.

For what it’s worth, I also bet Demidov anytime goal at +235 odds and sprinkled on Demidov 2+ goals at +2000.

Hopefully, I’ll get to celebrate Demidov’s debut with Canadiens fans tonight with a couple of winners.

Oilers, Kings set to meet in first round playoff preview

The Los Angeles Kings are set to visit the Edmonton Oilers in a first-round playoff preview tonight.

Barring a late collapse by the Kings, that series will start in Los Angeles.

The Kings are two points clear of Edmonton for second place in the Western Conference with a game in hand.

LA can officially clinch the No. 2 spot in the Pacific tonight.

Even if they fall short, the Kings will get a chance to lock up home ice for the first round with games against the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames to close out the year.

In case you missed it, FanDuel has odds up for the first couple of Stanley Cup Playoff match-ups that have already been set.

The Kings are +110 to upset the Oilers in the first round.

Edmonton is -130 to win that series at FanDuel.

Bueckers an obvious No. 1 pick in WNBA Draft

The 2025 WNBA Draft is set to go tonight on TSN.

UCONN star Paige Bueckers is the obvious choice to go No. 1 overall.

Bueckers is -20000 to be the first pick at FanDuel.

That number represents a 99.5 per cent chance.

The real question this morning is who the No. 1 overall pick will hug first once the selection is made.

In case you missed it, you can find that novelty prop at FanDuel this morning, along with markets for each of the top five picks in the WNBA Draft.

Have a great day, everyone!