The Montreal Canadiens visited the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night in a matchup between a squad desperate for a playoff spot and a team hoping to conclude their rebuilding season on a high note.
However, you wouldn’t have realized the Flyers were aiming for springtime hockey when the Habs strolled to a 9-3 victory.
Juraj Slafkovsky led the offensive onslaught, scoring his first NHL hat trick and putting the league on notice about his long-term prospects.
Before we get into the highlights, we’d like to welcome anyone who wants to see the perspective from the other side of the ice to visit our sister site, Philadelphia Hockey Now.
Net Front Presence
Slafkovsky’s overall game has undoubtedly improved dramatically in the second part of the 2023-24 season. And, while the majority of the acclaim he receives is for his finesse plays, we’d be negligent if we didn’t highlight that he’s doing a far better job of creating disruption in the offensive zone with his wingspan and enormous frame.
His 17th goal of the season will be swiftly forgotten because it was far from a highlight reel play, but it’s the type of situation that occurs a hundred times per game, so quantity is more essential than quality in this instance.
It should also be noted that Mike Matheson and Cole Caufield assisted on the goal, which means Matheson is now just two points shy of reaching 60 points this season, while Caufield produced 60 points for the first time in his career despite a very difficult season in terms of shooting efficiency.
Actually, replay shows Slafkovsky's skate got a piece on the way through.
Goal will be changed to Slaf for his 17th of the year https://t.co/3P2rqZNZfM pic.twitter.com/0RnBTVCzjH
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 9, 2024
Slafkovsky’s second goal of the game capped following a wonderful passing play in the attacking zone, which we’re seeing more of these days.
As is customary, Nick Suzuki provided assistance with the play.
Tuesday’s game was a celebration of Slafkovsky’s tremendous progress, so we won’t be focusing as much on Suzuki’s play as we normally do, but he is the engine that powers the Canadiens’ offense.
