MONTREAL — Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first NHL goal for the Montreal Canadiens in a 6-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes at the Bell Center on Thursday.
Slafkovsky, the first pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, scored on a wrist shot to give the Canadiens a 4-0 lead at 8:17 of the second period.
“I don’t even remember how I scored the goal,” Slafkovsky said. “I just went to celebrate because I think that’s the best part of the goal, the [celebration]. I was more focused on the celebration than on how I scored.”
He received a standing ovation when the goal was announced, which was also his first NHL point in his fifth career game.
“It’s probably the best crowd, and I think there’s nothing better that could happen after [my] first goal in the NHL than what happened there,” Slafkovsky said. ” It’s incredible.
Video: ARI@MTL: Slafkovsky buries a shot from the circle for the 1st
Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki everyone had a purpose, and Jack Allen made 25 saves for Montreal (3-2-0), which scored on its second, third and fourth shots.
“I thought we had a deep play mentality early on and owned in the O zone,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “We had some good rebounds. We forced a team to flip the pucks, we played over, which I really felt against (the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday in a 3-2 overtime win), and we were opportunistic. with our chances.”
Travis Boyd had a goal and an assist, and Lawson Crouse had two assists for Arizona (1-3-0).
Connor Ingram made 24 saves in his first start since being claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 10.
“I think we owe him one, for sure,” said Coyotes coach André Tourigny. “I think their first four shots had maybe four chances to score. We didn’t make it easy for him.”
Josh Anderson gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 1:58 of the first period, hitting a rebound after Jonathan DrouinThe shot went off the post.
Video: ARI@MTL: Caufield fires a shot that goes through
Caufield made it 2-0 at 4:13 of a turnover in the offensive zone for his fourth goal in five games, and Brendan Gallagher made it 3-0 at 7:17 from the left faceoff circle for his first goal of the season.
“We have to find a way to have more urgency to start a game, and it just snowballed from there,” Tourigny said. “Our game with the puck was far from what it should be in the first two periods. We played with more confidence in the third, we sort of regrouped, but it’s up to us. It’s up to me to find solutions.
After Slavkovsky’s goal made it 4-0, Suzuki scored on a penalty shot at 18:27 of the second period. Hooked by Coyotes forward Clayton Keller on a breakaway, the Habs captain went wide and through the crease before gently flipping the puck over Ingram’s glove.
“I think I tried to do it a few times,” Suzuki said. “I honestly didn’t really like my first look, it came out way out of its crease, then I just improvised at the end.”
Video: ARI@MTL: Suzuki makes a soft gesture and throws the puck
JJ Moser went 5-1 at 6:21 of the third period, and Boyd made it 5-2 at 8:18 with a backdoor.
Sean Monahan scored an empty-net goal at 16:36 for the 6-2 final.
“Obviously it’s a tough place to play, and really the last thing you want to do is spot a few of them early in the first half,” Keller said. “So I think puck management was a big part of it and part of that, I guess, is maybe mentally not being as prepared as a team as we need to be to start a game.”
REMARKS: Slafkovsky became the youngest Slovakian-born player to score his first NHL goal at 18 years and 204 days. The brand was previously owned by Marian Gaborik of the Minnesota Wild (18 years, 235 days). He is the fourth youngest player to score for the Canadiens, behind Mario Tremblay (18 years, 75 days), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (18 years, 118 days) and Claude Lemieux (18 years, 141 days). The first Slovakian-born player to be drafted No. 1, Slafkovsky is the second first-round pick to score his first career goal at the same building he was drafted from. Ed Jovanovski of the Florida Panthers was selected first overall in the 1994 NHL Draft and scored his first NHL goal at the Hartford Civic Center on December 2, 1995.
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