MONTREAL — Ivan Demidov scored in the first period of his ballyhooed NHL debut, but the Chicago Blackhawks spoiled the party, defeating the playoff-hopeful Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Monday night.

Demidov, a 19-year-old Russian forward who joined the team last week, had a goal and an assist, and Juraj Slafkovsky and Alex Newhook also scored for the Canadiens. But they couldn’t prevent the home team from losing its third straight with a chance to clinch a playoff spot.

The Canadiens have 89 points — four more than the Columbus Blue Jackets with one game left Wednesday at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Blue Jackets have two games left.

What lies ahead for the team, though, took a back seat to Demidov and the deafening ovation he received after he set up Newhook’s opening goal. The youngster sat on Montreal’s bench, mouthed a couple of words and cracked a big smile while public address announcer Michel Lacroix announced the goal amid the Bell Centre bedlam.

“He has a unique blend of skill, hockey sense, deception,” general manager Kent Hughes said Monday morning, highlighting Demidov’s ability to move laterally on the ice. “Let’s see how it is. He’s going to adjust to a different game of hockey here.”

In making his debut, Demidov became the third teenager in Canadiens franchise history to score a goal in his NHL opener, joining Mark Hunter (1981) and Bernie Geoffrion (1950).

“It’s a great time to be a Habs fan,” Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson said. “But for him I think it’s important to know that he doesn’t need to come in and be the savior.”

Demidov was the No. 5 pick in last year’s NHL draft. He led his Russian club, SKA Saint Petersburg, in scoring with 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) in 65 games this season, setting a Kontinental Hockey League record for under-20 players despite having inconsistent ice time.

“In the locker room, I felt good,” Demidov said after the loss. “But when I got out to do my rookie lap, I guess I was nervous, because the crowd was so amazing.”

He should get used to crowds soon. Last Thursday night, when he touched down on Canadian soil at Toronto Pearson Airport, he was greeted by a throng of Canadiens fans waiting for him.

“It obviously shows how excited our fans are,” Matheson said. “Social media kind of causes it to be way [bigger] than it could have ever been when I was growing up.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MONTREAL — After a whirlwind couple of days, Ryan Greene made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.

Greene skated for almost 13 minutes in a 4-3 shootout win at Montreal. Greene, who centered a line between captain Nick Foligno and rookie Oliver Moore, went 3 for 9 in the faceoff circle.

He also is expected to play when the Blackhawks (24-46-11) close out their schedule at Ottawa on Tuesday night.

Greene had 13 goals and 25 assists in 40 games for Boston University this season. The Terriers lost to Western Michigan in the Frozen Four final in St. Louis on Saturday night.

A day later, the Blackhawks announced they had agreed to a three-year contract with Greene, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft. He skated with the team on Monday ahead of the matchup with the Canadiens.

“Tough loss there on Saturday,” Greene said after the morning skate. “But had to sleep that one off and then get up pretty early on Sunday morning and drive down here. So a lot of emotions, for sure. Happened really quick, but just excited to be here.”

Greene described himself as a responsible player who can be used in a variety of situations.

“I’ve just been able to round out my game the last three years at BU,” he said.

The Blackhawks are closing out another difficult season. They are 4-11-3 in their last 18 games.

Greene is the latest prospect to join the team as it continues to look to the future. Defenseman Artyom Levshunov made his NHL debut on March 10, and Moore and defenseman Sam Rinzel played in their first game with Chicago on March 30.

“It’s cool to see. I mean the vibes are really good in here,” Greene said. “It’s a really young group. … I’ve known some of the guys now from just meeting them and playing with them at development camp. So that made the transition a little bit easier for me.”

The San Jose Sharks scheduled a news conference for Tuesday, when the club and captain Logan Couture will announce that the veteran center can’t continue his playing career because of injury, a source told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski on Monday night, confirming a report.

An NHL source told Wyshynski that Couture won’t officially retire, and that, instead, he will remain on long-term injured reserve. But his playing days are over, marking an end to one of the greatest careers in Sharks history.

At the news conference, San Jose general manager Mike Grier will be joined by Couture, 36, a 2007 first-round pick of the Sharks who spent this entire season on LTIR. He appeared in just six games last season for the rebuilding organization, and last played a full season in 2022-23, when he skated in 82 games, finishing with 27 goals and 67 points.

Couture, who has been dealing with osteitis pubis, an inflammation between the left and right pubic bones, was a perennial playoff performer despite the Sharks having never won a Stanley Cup. In 116 postseason games, he had 48 goals, including 16 power-play tallies, and 101 points. He helped lead San Jose to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, when it lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As the Sharks wrap up the regular season this week, Couture is concluding the sixth season of an eight-year, $64 million contract. He is due $13 million over the next two seasons, and his deal carries a salary cap hit of $8 million.

Couture will finish his career with 323 goals and 701 points. He is behind only Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski on the franchise’s all-time points leaderboard.

News of Couture’s decision was first reported by the Daily Faceoff.