RALEIGH, N.C. — Montreal Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov was talking to reporters ahead of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday morning and was asked to compare his team’s experience in this series to what they went through in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.Both were tight-checking series. Both were difficult for the Canadiens to navigate, but for Demidov in particular, it was the first time he had ever seen hockey like this.Demidov struggled to find space in the first round against the Lightning, an experienced, battle-hardened team that was desperate to add a Stanley Cup while still in their competitive window.So how similar was his experience in this series against the Hurricanes, a similarly battle-hardened team with a bit more desperation to win their first Cup in this contention window they have meticulously cultivated?“I would say yeah, it’s pretty similar, but (the Hurricanes) do everything faster,” Demidov said. “It’s just, you know, you have to do everything better. Do everything faster.“That’s how it works.”As Demidov spoke that morning, it was impossible not to notice how sparsely populated his chin was with facial hair. He’s 20, trying to grow a playoff beard, and that chin revealed just how unprepared he was for the situation. But his response was bang on, a perfect read of how the series was going for the Canadiens.The Canadiens needed to do everything faster; they needed to do everything better, and they just couldn’t.They lost Game 4 that night 4-0, a score that belied how lopsided that game was, and they lost Game 5 on Friday night 6-1, ending this playoff run three wins short of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.That response from Demidov prior to Game 4 stood out in the aftermath because he seemed to know how far away the Canadiens were from being competitive in this series, despite having lost consecutive overtime games by a 3-2 score.He knew the score in those games did not tell the whole story.Demidov’s buddy, Lane Hutson, knows it too.“As close as it feels, we’re so far away still,” Hutson said following the Canadiens’ elimination. “So much more to do to battle and get to the ultimate goal. When you win two rounds, you’ve still got to find another level for the next round and hopefully keep going.”The Canadiens might have been three wins shy of reaching the final, but they were seven wins shy of winning the Stanley Cup. Considering they won nine playoff games this year, that is a long way off.