The Montreal Canadiens are getting ready to take on the Dallas Stars in tonight’s contest. They will be short a winger, with Juraj Slafkovsky being ruled out for Saturday night’s game. The rookie winger is labeled as day-to-day and will miss the contest against the Stars.
According to the Montreal Canadiens announcement on the team’s website, he will be out with an upper-body injury. This means that Rem Pitlick or Michael Pezzetta will slot into the team’s lineup. No lines have been announced yet, but it’s early.
Montreal Canadiens news: Juraj Slafkovsly is out versus Dallas with an injury.
Slafkovsky is coming off of the Habs’ recent win against the Coyotes, where he captured his first NHL goal. He was able to win corral a loose puck near the top of the zone on an attempted breakout, make the turn and let one rip from around the top of the circles, beating Connor Ingram.
More on the goal in this article, which has a video of Slafkovsky’s first career goal. On the flip side, there’s been a lot of learning from the 18-year-old forward. He’s shown glimpses of things to like to this point.
Lots to like about Slafkovsky as he continues to soak everything in. Hopefully, the upper-body injury is nothing to be super concerned about and is a quick day-to-day ailment. For now, the Habs will likely look to Rem Pitlick to jump into the team’s offense.
Martin St. Louis has not been shy to switch around the lines early on in the 2022-23 season as he continues to get settled in, in his first full season as the team’s bench boss. Expect some changes to continue, especially if Slafkovsky is out for a couple of days and Pitlick becomes a familiar face.
The Habs will go into battle tonight to face the Dallas Stars at 7:05 ET. The Stars have yet to lose in regulation, carrying a 3-0-1 record, to the Habs’ 3-2-0 record through the first five games.