On a night that saw the Montreal Canadiens score a whopping nine goals against the Philadelphia Flyers, one player stood out in particular.
Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky capped off the most productive game of his NHL career so far with his first hat trick, scoring three goals before the second intermission rolled around. At just 20 years old, he became the second youngest Habs player to net three goals in a single game.
But most impressively, perhaps, Slafkovsky completed the feat while dealing with a bout of sickness and fatigue.
When asked if he had lost his voice by celebrating too hard, the 20-year-old admitted he had been dealing with a cold.
“I’m a little sick. Got me good, got my throat,” Slafkovsky told reporters after the game.
The 6-foot-3 forward also mentioned getting “bad sleep” the night before but hypothesized that it could be used as a formula for future success.
“I mean, it can stay like this if it’s like that every game,” he added, laughing.
For most people, dealing with a cold means staying in bed. But one would never suspect Slafkosvky was operating anywhere under 100% by watching his highlights from Montreal’s 9-3 win.
The first of his three goals came less than two minutes into the game. It was originally attributed to defenceman Mike Matheson before an overhead replay determined Slafkovsky touched the puck before it crossed the goal line.
Actually, replay shows Slafkovsky's skate got a piece on the way through.
Goal will be changed to Slaf for his 17th of the year https://t.co/3P2rqZNZfM pic.twitter.com/0RnBTVCzjH
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 9, 2024
Slafkovsky’s second, a one-timer off a tic-tac-toe passing play led by Matheson and Nick Suzuki, was much clearer to decipher.
No. 8 ➡️ No. 14 ➡️ No. 20 🚨
#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/5IMDiuoVQO— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 10, 2024
Eager to light the lamp again, the Canadiens winger wasted no time, completing the hat trick to put his team up 4-0 about two and a half minutes later.
A standing ovation from the Bell Centre faithful followed when his name was announced after the breakaway marker.
LE PREMIER TOUR DU CHAPEAU DE SLAF DANS LA LNH
SLAF'S FIRST NHL HATTY 👏#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/C1yHhrdlaN
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 10, 2024
When asked which of the three was his favourite, Slafkovsky had no preference.
“I’m happy for all of them. It doesn’t matter how they go in.”
And while he’s probably riding a high of adrenaline right now, Slafkovsky will get a couple of much-needed recovery days with the Habs’ next game coming this Thursday against the New York Islanders.
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