- Juraj Slafkovsky brushed off two big Round 1 hits with a self-deprecating quote
- He took a one-punch KO from Brandon Hagel and a heavy hit from Max Crozier
- Read below for what Slafkovsky said and how Montreal opens Round 2 vs Buffalo
Juraj Slafkovsky isn’t sweating the bumps and bruises he picked up in Round 1.
The Canadiens forward got dropped in a fight by Brandon Hagel in Game 2 and absorbed a heavy hit from Max Crozier in Game 4. Asked Tuesday whether either was still bothering him heading into Round 2 against the Buffalo Sabres, Slafkovsky kept it light.
“I think I’m good. I can’t really get much dumber.”
The Hagel fight was the more visual of the two. Slafkovsky threw first at center ice, traded a few shots, and caught a clean right hand that sent him to the ice. He bounced right back up, but Hagel sent him to the box with a “too small” gesture and a sleeping motion that summed up the whole moment. Here’s the video:
The Crozier hit in Game 4 was the one that actually had Slafkovsky leaving the ice. He returned later in the night, but the hit helped flip momentum and Tampa stole the win.
Slafkovsky’s first round was a mixed bag. He scored a hat trick in the Game 1 win, then went pointless across the next six games and finished a -4. The 21-year-old still played every game and pushed through both shots without missing a shift.
Now Montreal flips the page to Buffalo. The Sabres took the Atlantic this year and rolled through the regular season behind one of the deepest forward groups in the league. Slafkovsky’s line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki was the Canadiens’ engine all year, and they’ll need to come out flying in Round 2.
If his pre-game tone is anything to go by, he isn’t stressing it.
