About Last Night: Slafkovsky flashes potential in 6-2 win over Yotes

© Provided by The Gazette Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky tosses a puck into the stands after being named the first star of the Habs’ victory over the Arizona Coyotes at the Bell Centre in Montreal Thursday Oct. 20, 2022. Slafkovsky scored his first career goal in the game. (John Mahoney / MONTREAL GAZETTE)/

First overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky played his best game as a Hab in his brief NHL career as his Montreal Canadiens defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 at the Bell Centre on Thursday.

This battle between the 2021-22 cellar dwellars wasn’t close, even when the home team took their foot off the gas in the third period. Barring a scoring adjustment, the Habs scored four unassisted goals in the contest, including one on a penalty shot by Nick Suzuki.

But before we get to the rest: the Slafkovsky goal. It offered everything you’d expect from the big man. The Yotes failed to clear, a familiar refrain last night, and the 18-year-old took advantage, swinging the puck around and wristing one past Connor Ingram. It ended with him staring down Joshua Brown, who hit him earlier in the sequence.

He soaked in the moment on the bench.

Finally, Slafkovsky gave his first postgame “merci, Montreal,” to the Bell Centre faithful.

That wasn’t the only highlight for Habs fans on the night. They hit the scoreboard early and often. Josh Anderson barrelled in and opened scoring under two minutes into the game after Jonathan Drouin’s initial chance was denied.

Just over two minutes later, Cole Caufield scored his fourth of the season off one of those frequent Coyotes turnovers.

Then it was Brendan Gallagher’s turn to snipe his first of the season. Yotes coach Andre Tourigny gave his bench an earful during the television timeout.

Veteran Zack Kassian took it upon himself to motivate his club, but he picked the wrong hombre to mess with as Xhekaj, who goes by either X-Man or Wi-Fi depending on who you ask, sent the more seasoned fighter to the ice. The Habs were up 3-0 after their most dominant period of the season so far.

Slafkovsky made it 4-0 at 8:17 of the second period, but the captain ended the frame with a moment of his own. Suzuki was rewarded a penalty shot after getting dumped en route to the net shorthanded, and he beat Ingram with a top corner changeup the Liveblog commenters called Datsyukesque. The period ended 5-0.

Any team can win on any given night (just ask the Leafs against these same Yotes), so it wasn’t entirely surprising Arizona came out in the third with a bone to pick, especially the top line of Clayton Keller, Travis Boyd and Lawson Crouse. Swiss blue liner Janis Moser broke Jake Allen’s shutout bid.

Then it was Boyd who made it 5-2.

Tourigny pulled Ingram with just over four minutes left, but Sean Monahan gave the Habs the 6-2 finisher with an empty net dump from downtown.

It was a festive atmosphere in the Liveblog comments, even though it’s only October and even though it’s only the lowly Coyotes. Slafkovsky ended the night playing a season-high 14:26 and it was nice to see what the prospect can do, even if he’s still destined for Laval. The commenters were arguably more excited about Xhekaj taking care of a tough customer in Kassian. It was not lost on them that just a season ago, Kassian ran Sam Montembeault and no one came to the goalie’s defence.