A well-rested Montreal Canadiens team returned to action on Saturday night, hoping to kick off the season’s closing stretch with a win over the Ottawa Senators. The Four Nations break gave the Habs an extra advantage, as the Senators were missing a key player in Brady Tkachuk. They took full advantage, scoring five goals, chasing Linus Ullmark from the net, and finishing with a 5-2 win.
In the win, Juraj Slafkovsky played maybe his finest game of the season, bringing some real intensity and looking like a player eager to get back out there.
This was possibly his best play of the night, and he will not see his name on the scoreboard for it. This type of forechecking is what we see from Slafkovsky when he’s at his peak – physically punishing and creating opportunities for his linemates with intensity. He did this throughout the game, and as a result, the Senators had to deal with an extremely unpleasant player.
And, as is often the case when he plays with intensity, he found a way to get on the scoreboard.