Zachary Bolduc Scored Twice in Montreal's First Game Without Ivan Demidov and Takes On a Bigger Role

Zachary Bolduc answered the Montreal Canadiens' first real injury test of the season with the best game of his young campaign. With Ivan Demidov ruled out for two to four weeks with a lower-body injury, Bolduc scored twice in Tuesday's home opener at Bell Centre, including a power-play goal, before the Carolina Hurricanes rallied for a 6-4 win.

The loss dropped Montreal to 1-1-1, but the fantasy story is the vacancy Demidov leaves behind and who is filling it. Bolduc moved up the lineup and, per multiple reports, onto Demidov's spot on the first power-play unit. He made the promotion count right away.

The Demidov Injury

The Canadiens announced Tuesday that Demidov will miss two to four weeks. He was hurt in Saturday's overtime loss to Pittsburgh, a game in which he played 16:03 and had a goal and an assist before the injury. According to the team, it is the first injury of his NHL career: the Russian winger played all 82 games as a rookie last season.

That rookie season is why this matters. Demidov finished with 62 points (19 goals, 43 assists), led all rookies in assists and points, and was a Calder Trophy finalist. He was Montreal's most creative puck carrier on the power play, and the Canadiens converted 23.1 percent of their chances last season. Coach Martin St. Louis said the team has the depth to absorb the loss given how the lines are built, but replacing a player of that skill level for up to a month is not a small ask.

Montreal's injury list is getting longer. Defenseman Kaiden Guhle is also out, and forward Oliver Kapanen is listed as day to day heading into Thursday's game.

How the Lineup Shuffled

St. Louis did not simply plug in a fourth-liner. He moved several pieces, and the reported changes for Tuesday's game show where the opportunity landed.

The most important line for fantasy purposes is the one that does not show up at even strength. Bolduc's even-strength role stayed in the middle six, but the power-play promotion is where his value lives. Dach's move to the second line is notable as well, though he did not register a point Tuesday.

Bolduc's Night and His Track Record

Bolduc tied the game 1-1 at 3:23 of the first period, chasing down the rebound of a Phillip Danault deflection and lifting a backhand over Brandon Bussi's left pad. At 12:54 of the period he scored on the power play to put Montreal ahead 3-2. Nick Suzuki added a goal and an assist and Juraj Slafkovsky scored late, but Carolina outshot Montreal 17-4 in the second period and took over. Sebastian Aho's power-play goal tied it, Mark Jankowski and Taylor Hall pushed the lead to 5-3, and Andrei Svechnikov sealed it into an empty net. Jakub Dobes made 28 saves on 34 shots.

Bolduc also scored in the season opener, a 3-2 win in Toronto on Sept. 29, so he has at least three goals in Montreal's first three games. That is a fast start for a player whose ceiling has been debated since the St. Louis Blues drafted him in the first round. Last season, his first in Montreal, he finished with 12 goals and a career-high 18 assists for 30 points in 78 games, then added three goals and four assists in 19 playoff games as the Canadiens reached the Eastern Conference Final.

Montreal clearly believes in him. The club signed the 23-year-old to a four-year, $16.8 million contract on Sept. 13, a $4.2 million cap hit that runs through 2029-30. Teams do not pay a 30-point forward that money without expecting more, and Demidov's injury gives Bolduc an early stage to prove the contract right.

Fantasy Fallout

Bolduc is the pickup. He is widely available in standard leagues because his 30-point season did not move draft boards, but the inputs have changed: more power-play time next to Suzuki and Caufield, a shooting role, and a team that wants to see what it paid for. For the next two to four weeks, he should be rostered in 12-team leagues that count power-play points, and he is a priority add in deeper formats and in leagues that reward hits and shots.

The other names to watch are secondary. Dach is worth monitoring in deep leagues because top-six minutes for a healthy Dach have produced streaks before, but he is not a must-add until he is producing. Xhekaj is a fourth-liner and a peripheral-stats play only in leagues that value penalty minutes and hits.

For Demidov managers, this is a hold. Two to four weeks is a short absence for a player of his caliber, and with IR slots available in most formats, there is no reason to sell low. Use the slot and pick up Bolduc as the bridge.

The Verdexed Angle

The betting read is simple: Montreal's power play loses its best distributor, and early returns suggest the team will try to replace that with more shooting. That can still work against weaker penalty kills, but the bigger concern Tuesday was five-on-five play. Being outshot 34-20 at home is not a sustainable formula, and Dobes cannot be expected to steal games on that volume every night.

For player props and daily fantasy, Bolduc's shot total is the number to watch. A player moving onto the first unit generally gets more attempts, and he has scored in at least two of three games. Suzuki and Caufield remain the core of the power play, but with Demidov out, their assist path runs through different hands. Readers can find the full slate and game-by-game outlook at /nhl/predictions, with today's card at /blog/nhl-picks-2026-10-07.

What Comes Next

Montreal hosts the Nashville Predators on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, with both teams at 1-1-1. Nashville has its own goaltending shuffle: Justus Annunen is out, and the Predators recalled Matt Murray from AHL Milwaukee on Tuesday. That is a favorable spot for Bolduc to stay hot and for the Montreal power play to show what it looks like without Demidov.

The questions for the next week are whether Bolduc keeps his first-unit spot once the Kapanen situation clears and whether St. Louis keeps Dach in the top six. If Bolduc is still on the top unit when Demidov returns later this month, his value will hold beyond the injury window. Until then, he is the Canadien to add.