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Sports activities NHL Montreal Canadiens Hockey Inside Out Hockey
The 19-year-old man/little one scored as soon as in a hard-fought 4-3 victory, however was across the web all evening and will have had extra.
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It got here as nearly no shock that Cole Caufield, enjoying his first sport in additional than eight months, scored the profitable objective for the Canadiens Wednesday evening on the facility play.
However the larger, more-pleasant revelation was the play of Juraj Slafkovsky. The 19-year-old man/little one scored as soon as within the Canadiens’ hard-fought 4-3 pre-season victory over the pesky Ottawa Senators on the Bell Centre, however might have simply had extra.
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Slafkovsky, the primary total draft selection in 2022, will all the time have that cross to bear. And enjoying in a hockey-crazed metropolis like Montreal, expectations will all the time be excessive on the 6-foot-3, 238-pound Slovak.
In 39 video games as a rookie, he produced 4 targets and 10 factors, but additionally proved to be a defensive legal responsibility at instances earlier than sustaining a season-ending knee harm in mid-January.
“I’m simply hoping for him to develop this season,” head coach Martin St. Louis mentioned. “And rising is just not essentially in a straight line. There’s going to be some dips and stuff, however I’m fairly positive from now till the tip of the season, once we join these dots, it’s going up.
“The expectations that he has to stay with, generally they’re unfair. Tonight he was in the proper spot. It’s one factor to be in the proper spot and doing the proper factor whenever you’re in that spot. Clearly he has velocity, he’s received energy and he can shoot the puck. It’s a great signal to me, the final 5 durations he has performed. And we’re going to maintain going.”
Slafkovsky pounced on a unfastened puck from a scramble in entrance, beating goaltender Joonas Korpisalo with a snap shot to the glove aspect at 13:44 of the primary interval, offering the Canadiens with a 2-0 lead.
Highway to the Cup
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However Slafkovsky was thirsty for extra.
Early within the second interval from the aspect, and with an open web staring him within the face, Slafkovsky shot huge. Three minutes later, whereas Montreal was on the facility play, he reduce in from the proper wing, solely to be denied by Korpisalo’s glove. And within the thirteenth minute of the interval, his backhand from the slot was huge.
In barely lower than 14 minutes of ice time, Slafkovsky had two pictures, three makes an attempt that missed the online, one hit and one blocked shot. He additionally took a third-period tripping penalty, however was all around the ice, his presence felt in giant measures.
“It’s the second sport nonetheless and I simply began to play on Monday after 9 months,” Slafkovsky mentioned. “It’s nonetheless getting there. It helps, enjoying plenty of video games. I’m slowly constructing my sport again and I already really feel significantly better. I do know the progress is there.
“The final time I scored it was in December. It feels fairly good to attain once more. It feels nice to attain, even when it’s pre-season. You’ve received to start out someplace. I do know what I must do and the place I ought to be. I felt at the moment was higher than Monday. I’ll maintain constructing from that.”
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Brandon Gignac, a former third-round draft selection of New Jersey in 2016 with one profession NHL sport on his resumé, opened the scoring for Montreal, whereas Sean Monahan scored the opposite objective. The Canadiens misplaced all eight of their exhibition video games final season.
Mathieu Joseph paced the Senators with a pair of targets. Dominik Kubalik additionally scored.
Jake Allen began in objective for Montreal, permitting two targets on 12 pictures earlier than being changed by Cayden Primeau halfway by way of the second interval. Primeau was overwhelmed on the second shot he confronted earlier than settling down, holding the fort over the ultimate 20 minutes, when the Canadiens had been outshot 10-4.
Caufield is the Canadiens’ most-natural scorer — a giant motive why the 22-year-old was rewarded with an eight-year, US$62.8-million extension final June, the second-highest contract for a ahead in workforce historical past, trailing captain Nick Suzuki’s comparable eight-year deal by $200.000.
Caufield, who underwent season-ending surgical procedure on his proper shoulder, was enjoying his first sport since Jan. 19.
Korpisalo received a bit of Caufield’s shot and may have corralled the puck. In spite of everything, that’s why he was signed to a five-year, US$20-million free-agent contract after dividing final season between Columbus and Los Angeles.
The Canadiens entertain Toronto Friday evening.
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
twitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1
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