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Montreal Canadiens: Final Preseason Game Gave Reason For Excitement

By Tyler Major-Mcnicol

MONTREAL, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 27: Juraj Slafkovsky #20 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the first period against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on September 27, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 27: Juraj Slafkovsky #20 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the first period against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on September 27, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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The Montreal Canadiens iced, for the most part, their entire starting lineup, and the Senators iced a less talented squad for the second time this preseason between the two teams.

Kaiden Guhle, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson didn’t play, but the sense I get from the Senators’ lineup, is that they are still unhappy with Arber Xhekaj because of his fisticuffs during the 2022 preseason. It’s not that there was no NHL talent for the Sens, but the Habs were all business and didn’t play into the physical game, which DJ Smith seemed to be aiming for.

A Saturday night game, which will be the last of the 2023 exhibition schedule, was one that seemed to bring the Habs closer together. They had to deal with some very physical players that are playing for their NHL future, likely in the form of a call-up, or one of final roster spots. it was a perfect opportunity for the Habs power play units to get in some reps, and Michael Pezzetta even got in on the fun, with a beautiful one-timer slapshot at the top of the right faceoff circle.

Here are a handful of the Habs’ best performers from the preseason finale clash with the Senators.

Juraj Slafkovsky

Juraj Slafkovsky opened the scoring and was physically engaged throughout the contest, it was another strong performance for the Canadiens 2022 First Overall Draft selection during the exhibition schedule. He seemed to have a target on his back, and each and every time he looked content and amused that he was being challenged.

Slafkovsky showed a lot of great things and perhaps one of the biggest of all was his strength along the boards. He sheltered the puck well and made smart plays with the puck consistently. He, Dach and Newhook continued their strong play and were a perfect complement to Suzuki, Caufield and Rafael Harvey-Pinard.

Arber Xhekaj

Arber Xhekaj didn’t play as physically as the Canadiens would expect, but he continued to show off his mobility and made a lot of smart passes to spring his forwards. It seems apparent that he had a great offseason, and he wants to show everybody that he can relied on for more than just punching guys in the head. He did, however, channel Officer Xhekaj, and during one scrum he came out with a Senator player in each hand. 

To top off his night, he ripped a puck on the net that initially didn’t look like anything. After it was reviewed by the referees, it was determined that it was shot through the net. He has shown a willingness to shoot the puck on the net every chance that he gets, and it worked in his favour. He didn’t let anyone forget who he was, standing up for his linemates, which has become routine for him.

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