It’s been a pretty rough 24 hours for the Montreal Canadiens. And more bad news could be on the horizon.
After losing to the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre on Thursday night, it was revealed that both members of Montreal’s top defensive pairing were being evaluated for injuries, with Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson dealing with respective upper-body issues.
Not too long afterwards, Habs forward Juraj Slafkovsky was forced to leave the team’s Friday morning practice with an ailment of his own.
Upon taking a pretty run-of-the-mill shot on goaltender Cayden Primeau, Slafkovsky could be seen dealing with discomfort as he tried to stretch his left shoulder.
A video shared by Anthony Martineau of TVA Sports shows the 20-year-old shaking his head in frustration before heading to the locker room of the CN Sports Complex in Brossard.
BLESSURE DE SLAFKOVSKY
Voici un bref résumé en images de la séquence où l'attaquant a quitté l'entraînement, souffrant clairement d'une vive douleur à l'épaule gauche.
Chapeau à l'oeil de lynx du collègue caméraman Fred Therrien.
On se croise les doigts pour le #20. pic.twitter.com/zpnM8ItPE4
— Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) October 18, 2024
Once practice wrapped, head coach Martin St. Louis was hesitant to provide any details on the young Slovakian’s latest ailment.
“Is Juraj Slafkovsky travelling with you guys?” a reporter asked, inquiring about Montreal’s upcoming trip to New York.
“Yeah,” the coach said bluntly.
The journalist probed the coach further, asking “Is he good to play?”
“I don’t know,” St. Louis responded without elaborating.
While nothing is confirmed yet, it wouldn’t be the first injury Slafkovsky has dealt with. The winger missed the final three months of his rookie season in 2022-23 with a lower-body issue. He also underwent medical procedures after the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
As fellow forwards Patrik Laine and Rafael Harvey-Pinard deal with long-term injuries of their own, along with the potential of multiple holes on the blue line, losing Slafkovsky is the last thing the Canadiens need right now.
Riding a record of 2-3-0 to start the season, the Habs will take on the New York Islanders this Saturday at 7 pm ET.