“I want to show that I am there for my teammates,” said Arber Xhekaj. For Juraj Slafkovsky, “scoring my first goal in this building is a dream come true.”
.
Two youngsters made very different statements Thursday as they helped the Canadiens to a 6-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes and won the hearts of the Bell Center crowd in the process.
Announcement 2
.
Zach Kassian, who is a certified heavyweight, decided to challenge rookie Arber Xhekaj in one of those fights designed to wake up his teammates after they fell behind 3-0. It’s a dubious strategy and has no chance of success when the guy you’re challenging sends you to the locker room for medical treatment.
.
“I want to show that I am there for my teammates,” said Xhekaj. “(Kassian) was looking at me from face to face and he checked on me and I asked if she wanted to go.”
It was Xhekaj’s first NHL fight and he said he hoped it would send a message.
“I had a lot of fighting in junior where I was older and bigger, but I’m not afraid of anyone,” said the 6-foot-4, 238-pound player who received a loud ovation as he headed to the penalty area.
Announcement 3
.
Xhehaj’s willingness to stand up for his teammates was on display in the second period when Juraj Slafkovsky brought the crowd to its feet with his first NHL goal.
Moments before he scored, Slafkovsky took a hit from Josh Brown along the boards and Xhekaj tracked down the Arizona defender and licked him on his own.
And Slafkovsky rubbed it in by grabbing a loose puck, pulling away from Brown and beating Connor Ingram to put Montreal up 4-0.
“To score my first goal in this building, it’s a dream come true,” said Slafkovsky, 18, who was the first overall pick in this year’s draft. “I think this is the best crowd there is. I don’t think anything better happened after the first NHL goal than what happened there.
Announcement 4
.
“I don’t remember how I scored the goal,” Slavkovsky said. “I just went to celebrate because that’s the best part of the goal. It was good that I scored and good that we won.”
Brown was unhappy with the goal and Slafkovsky said: “Arber and I squeaked it a bit, but it was just emotions.”
Slafkovsky said he was glad Arber is “on our side” and coach Martin St. Louis said the Canadiens are developing a pack mentality in which players defend each other.
The Canadiens took an early lead when they scored on three of their first four shots with Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield and Brendan Gallagher getting past Ingram. Nick Suzuki, with a penalty, and Sean Monahan, with an empty goal, provided Montreal’s other goals.
Jake Allen made 25 saves, allowing third-quarter goals to JJ Moser and Travis Boyd.
The Canadiens were coming off a 3-2 overtime win over Pittsburgh on Monday and St. Louis said he was pleased his team picked up where it left off.
-
Juraj Slafkovsky scores his first NHL goal as the Canadiens defeat the lowly Coyotes 6-2
-
Liveblog Replay: Habs Win Battle Of Last Season’s Worst Teams
