(Montreal) It was gala evening, Thursday at the Bell Centre. Hockey gala… and boxing!
Posted at 9:47 p.m.
Updated at 10:52 p.m.
Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first NHL goal, Arber Xhekaj gave Zack Kassian a correction and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-2.
The two rookies stirred up the crowd, while the Canadian manhandled the Coyotes.
“I’m happy for the kid,” head coach Martin St-Louis said of Slafkovsky’s first goal. It’s a lot of pressure for an 18-year-old guy to be drafted first overall and play here in Montreal.
“The fans showed respect and encouraged the youngster. He scored his first and I didn’t expect anything else from them,” he added of the ovation received by the Slovak.
The Coyotes arrived in Montreal after upsetting the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 on Monday. The scenario was very different three days later.
The Canadian scored three goals on his first four shots and rode easily to victory, despite a little scare late in the game.
“In general, I liked the game,” said St-Louis. It was tough in the third period. It’s not easy when you’re leading by five in the third period.
“Jake (Allen) made some big saves for us. In general, I am very happy with our game. »
Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Nick Suzuki and Sean Monahan also hit the target for the Canadian (3-2-0). Jake Allen stopped 25 shots.
Allen was back in action after missing Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins after his wife gave birth to the couple’s third child earlier in the day.
JJ Moser and Travis Boyd made things interesting by scoring in the third period for the Coyotes (1-3-0), but the damage was done. Connor Ingram stopped 24 shots.
The Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Dallas Stars at the Bell Centre.
Festive evening
The festivities started early, as Anderson opened the scoring just 1:58 into the game. He hit home on a return after Jonathan Drouin hit the post.
Caufield widened the gap at 4:13. He recovered a loose puck after a turnover from the Coyotes out of bounds and beat Ingram with a sharp shot that went under the goalie’s right arm.
The Canadian added at 7: 17. Gallagher scored his first goal of the season in a two-on-one attack.
Xhekaj then rocked the Bell Center with his fists. He knocked Kassian down after a fierce but brief fight.
Ingram managed to redeem himself by stopping the Canadian’s shots in the second half of the first period, but he was not yet at the end of his troubles.
Slafkovsky beat him 7:17 into the second period, after he intercepted an errant pass from defenseman Josh Brown.
The 18-year-old Slovak received a warm ovation from supporters, who even chanted his name. Slafkovsky waved at the bench as he laughed, flashing a broad smile.
Suzuki added it with 1:33 to go in the second period, on a penalty shot. He mocked Ingram by lobbing the puck over his mitt, as former Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk had done a few times.
Despite being down five goals, the Coyotes did not give up in the third period. Moser and Boyd scored 1:58 apart.
Juuso Valimaki hit the crossbar on a power play a few minutes later. Allen then frustrated Kassian with a close range shot.
Monahan closed the show with an empty-net goal with 3:24 left on the clock.
Locker Room Echoes
Juraj Slafkovsky was still all smiles in the locker room after the game.
“It’s incredible to have scored my first goal in this building. It’s a dream come true! »
Slafkovsky was also elated by Arber Xhekaj’s fight against Zack Kassian.
“I’m still afraid of him (Xhekaj)! I’m glad he’s with us and protecting us. »
Xhekaj told how happy Slafkovsky was to have him by his side.
“He said in the locker room how happy he was to play with the 72. I told him to calm down a bit! »
Brendan Gallagher noted that it was important to retain the positive elements of the meeting.
“We had two good days of training and it showed in our start to the game. However, it’s one of the hardest things for an athlete when you lose your competitive edge and they made us pay the price. But in general, I’m happy with our game and we move on to the next one. »