On Saturday night at the Bell Center, we suspected Nick Cousins was in for a fight. The reason was simple: the Habs were going after him for a dirty hit on Ivan Demidov in the preseason.
That's exactly what happened: Jayden Struble came to give him his message.
Struble forces Cousins to take a call on his dirty hit in the preseason.
It didn't take Struble long to defeat him. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ktm1JWplL7
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 2, 2025
However, interestingly, Cousins didn't get into the fight until the third period. Usually during the game everything is resolved much faster… but in this case it took some time.
And today, in front of the media, Cousins explained why: He decided that he was going to wait until the third period that night so he could fight “on his terms.”
And this despite the fact that Strubl went to see him several times during the match.
Struble's fist left a mark on Cousins' face: https://t.co/0nY1PhsBWl
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 3, 2025
Cousins who looks cute injured after this fight, admits that he did wrong against Demidov in the preparatory calendar. However, he considers the matter closed… and doesn't want to talk about it anymore.
It feels like he's learned his lesson… and that's a good sign that he'll be able to keep his cool against the Habs.
However, we agree that it's unusual to see Cousins willing to answer for his actions on his own terms. That's pretty unusual to see… especially since Struble clearly didn't let him off the hook the entire game.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how this all plays out for the rest of the season. Because we know that games between the Habs and Senators often involve many emotions are in the air… and it is in these situations that players can have trouble controlling themselves.
After a while
– Wow!
Sports ratings
Saturday evening:
– TVA Sports/Canadiens/500,000 (average per minute).– TVA Sports 2 / Blue Jays / 758,000 (per minute average). Peak at 1,235,000! #Wow
Almost everyone who subscribes to TVA Sports has watched at least one minute…
– Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) November 4, 2025
– No less.
Elite prospects for Ivan Demidov:
“It is no exaggeration to say that he is one of the most beautiful players to watch in the NHL. ” https://t.co/LpCtHPtdcb
– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 4, 2025
– Pavel Zaka: JIK doesn't see it as a solution in Montreal.
He shouldn't have the privilege of playing with Ivan Demidov.
https://t.co/Njr3U1zINc
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 3, 2025
– Mitch Marner Replacement” will not take place in Toronto tonight.
Matias Maccelli will not be on the ice during Leafs warm-ups.
He's not here tonight @TSN_Sport
– Mark Masters (@marchmasters) November 4, 2025
– I’m very sorry for the veteran.
John Schneider, on the other hand, might have been named America's Manager of the Year. https://t.co/Rs7wv7laDz
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) November 4, 2025
