(Gander) Juraj Slafkovsky’s audition is coming to an end and even though he didn’t score on Thursday, he continued to earn points.
Posted at 8:56 p.m.
Updated at 9:45 p.m.
The 18-year-old Slovak picked up an assist on a lucky Josh Anderson goal, but he mostly stood out with some good plays with the puck. Despite everything, the Canadian suffered a seventh loss in as many preparatory outings, Thursday at the Steele Community Center, losing 4-3 to the Ottawa Senators.
The game was held in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador as part of the Kraft Hockeyville Canada contest.
Slafkovsky was involved in some interesting attacks from the Canadian, even though he was not used on the power play. The first pick in the last draft notably set the stage for a Jake Evans scoring chance early in the third period.
“I think he played well, it was the best game he played,” said head coach Martin St-Louis. I liked his keys and the fact that he played with gravity. »
The main interested party said above all that he wanted to take advantage of his experience to learn and improve the different facets of his game.
“The skills coach (Adam Nicholas) shows me sequences and helps me with my decision-making,” Slafkovsky said. He helps me with things that maybe some people don’t see.
“I am lucky to be part of this organization,” he added.
Slafkovsky also admitted to feeling some pressure, although he tries not to let it affect him on the rink.
“He shouldn’t think about it,” insisted forward Kirby Dach. He has to go out on the rink and just play. I think he played a very good match.
“He has to have peace of mind and trust himself. He must be having fun at the moment. »
Dach also managed some nice attacking climbs. He hit the target on the power play on a pass from Brendan Gallagher, who was the spark plug for the Canadiens on Thursday.
“Brendan talked about it, he took advantage of the long summer to rebuild himself physically, recalled St-Louis. You see he has good hockey in him. He knows a great camp. »
Among the few absent from the Canadiens was captain Nick Suzuki, injured in the upper body on Tuesday against the Senators.
Suzuki did not make the trip to the Maritimes with his teammates. St-Louis admitted that it would be unlikely that he would count on exactly the same formation on Saturday for the Canadiens’ last preseason game, as on Wednesday, when the regular schedule was launched.
And despite the accumulation of losses during the camp, St-Louis remains optimistic.
“We are improving in our concepts, our ideas,” he said. I like our level of competition, our energy, our speed and the fact that we are physical. The only thing missing is a victory. »
Defender Kaiden Guhle also scored for the Canadiens and had another good game. At this point, it would be more than surprising if Guhle did not start the season with the Canadiens.
The evening was more difficult for Arber Xhekaj and Otto Leskinen. Xhekaj was penalized twice, but came to Dach’s defense by throwing the gloves past Austin Watson after a hard check from the veteran Senators forward. For his part, Leskinen made a few blunders that led to the opponent’s scoring chances.
Leskinen also got a chance to play on the power play, but wasn’t particularly effective at quarterback.
In net, Cayden Primeau looked bad on the Senators’ first two goals but was solid after that. He made 29 saves.
Tim Stützle scored a goal on a penalty shot and added two assists for the Senators. Drake Batherson, Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux also scored, while Anton Forsberg stopped 26 shots.
A penalty shootout was presented after the match. Canadian forward Rem Pitlick was the only one of the six shooters to move the ropes.
The Canadiens will play their last preseason game Saturday in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, again against the Senators.