[ad_1]
Breadcrumb Path Hyperlinks
SportsNHLMontreal CanadiensHockey Inside OutHockey
Joshua Roy scores his first NHL aim, Juraj Slafkovsky will get his sixth of the season and Cole Caufield nets the game-winner for Habs.
Article content material
Historical past was made on the 2022 NHL Draft when the Canadiens chosen Juraj Slafkovsky with the No. 1 total decide after which the New Jersey Devils took Simon Nemec with the second decide.
It marked the primary time gamers from Slovakia had been drafted with the primary two picks.
Article content material
Wednesday evening, Slafkovsky and Nemec — who’re shut pals — performed towards one another for the primary time within the NHL. The Canadiens gained 3-2 in New Jersey with Slafkovsky scoring a aim for the second straight recreation. It was his sixth aim of the season and 5 of them have come on the highway. Slafkovsky now has 4-6-10 totals within the final 15 video games.
Commercial 2
Article content material
Joshua Roy scored his first NHL aim for the Canadiens and Cole Caufield received his sixth game-winner of the season. It marked the third straight recreation Caufield has scored and he now has a team-leading 14 objectives, two greater than Nick Suzuki. The Canadiens improved their file to 19-18-7 and they’re 10-7-4 on the highway.
Luke Hughes and Alexander Holtz scored for the Devils as their file fell to 22-17-3.
Goalie Samuel Montembeault made 28 saves for the win because the Devils outshot the Canadiens 30-25. Montembeault improved his file to 10-6-4 with a 2.85 goals-against common and a .910 save proportion.
Whereas Canadiens GM Kent Hughes stated at his midseason information convention Monday that he wasn’t prepared but to anoint Montembeault because the No. 1 goalie, the actual fact the 27-year-old has began six of the final 9 video games speaks volumes. It seems now like Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau will cut up the backup begins for so long as this three-goalie system continues earlier than Hughes could make a commerce.
If Montembeault retains taking part in the way in which he did towards the Devils, the three-year, US$9.45-million contract extension Hughes signed him to on Dec. 1 will appear to be an amazing discount. The mixed worth of that contract is lower than the US$10.5 million injured Canadiens goalie Carey Worth averages every season on his eight-year, US$84-million contract that also has two extra seasons remaining with him on long-term injured reserve.
Commercial 3
Article content material
Highway to the Cup
Article content material
Commercial 4
Article content material
Montembeault shut the Devils out by means of the primary two durations, stopping all 22 photographs he confronted, whereas the Canadiens took a 2-0 lead. Slafkovsky scored at 12:48 of the primary interval on a ravishing setup from Caufield, who batted a cross out of mid-air from behind the online to Slafkovsky in entrance.
“It’s a reasonably nasty play,” Slafkovsky advised reporters in New Jersey after the sport about Caufield’s cross. “He’s a particular participant and he could make performs like these. I’m simply completely happy that I used to be in the fitting time and the fitting spot. I don’t even know the way it went in, so don’t ask me about it.
“(The puck) was form of bouncing and I simply form of whacked it and noticed it at the back of the online,” Slafkovsky added.
Commercial 5
Article content material
Roy scored at 14:45 of the second interval, finishing a ravishing two-on-one with Sean Monahan.
With 45 seconds left within the second interval, Suzuki was given a four-minute penalty after by chance high-sticking Kevin Bahl within the face and drawing blood. After the intermission, the Devils took benefit of a contemporary sheet of ice, getting power-play objectives from Hughes and Holtz within the first 1:38 of the third interval. It marked the third straight recreation the Canadiens have allowed a power-play aim and so they rank twenty ninth within the NHL in penalty-killing with a 72.7 per cent success charge.
Commercial 6
Article content material
Montembeault shut the door after the 2 power-play objectives and Caufield scored the game-winner with 4:31 left on the clock, banging within the rebound off a shot by Jordan Harris. The Canadiens are actually 11-0 this season when main after two durations.
This was the twentieth straight recreation Slafkovsky has performed on the No. 1 line with Suzuki and Caufield and coach Martin St. Louis’s determination to place them collectively and go away them there may be actually beginning to repay because the Canadiens’ rebuilding course of continues. Caufield has six objectives within the final 10 video games, whereas Suzuki has 4-11-15 totals within the final 16 video games.
At age 23, Caufield was the oldest of the three goal-scorers towards the Devils. Slafkovsky and Roy — who was taking part in in his third NHL recreation after getting known as up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket — are each 20. It might be attention-grabbing to see what the Canadiens would appear to be now if that they had injured forwards Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook — who’re each 22 — within the lineup.
Commercial 7
Article content material
Slafkovsky and Nemec had an opportunity to have dinner collectively Tuesday evening. Nemec performed final season with the AHL’s Utica Comets and he additionally began this season there earlier than making his NHL debut on Dec. 1. The 19-year-old defenceman logged 21:53 of ice time towards the Canadiens and had a minus-3 differential whereas choosing up an help
“He’s an amazing participant offensively,” Slafkovsky advised reporters in New Jersey Wednesday morning. “He can create rather a lot and he’s actually sensible, too. I’m positive his recreation will solely develop as a result of he has solely like 20 video games within the NHL, I believe. He’ll solely get higher. I can’t wait to see him progress and it’s good that you’ve got somebody you grew up with and might push one another to be higher.”
Really helpful from Editorial
Stu Cowan: Canadiens’ Johnathan Kovacevic epitomizes a profitable tradition
Stu Cowan: Canadiens’ Jayden Struble has lengthy historical past with Kent Hughes
Stu Cowan: Canadiens a number of methods to spice up offence, Kent Hughes says
Former Canadien Jonathan Drouin has discovered his recreation in Colorado
Slafkovsky headed into Wednesday evening’s recreation with 82 video games of NHL expertise beneath his belt — the equal of 1 full season. He now has 10-17-27 totals in 83 video games.
“It goes by quick,” Slafkovsky advised reporters Wednesday morning. “I really feel so significantly better, actually. It’s solely (82) video games, however I can see the progress and I’m positive I’ll solely develop and the subsequent 82 might be even higher.”
Recreation No. 83 was undoubtedly a memorable one for Slafkovsky.
scowan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/StuCowan1
Commercial 8
Article content material
Article content material
Share this text in your social community
[ad_2]
Source link
