Todd: Juraj Slafkovsky blossoming into a force for Canadiens

It was getting late early and the mighty Habitants from the province of Quebec were looking wobbly.

They were down 4-1 to the most fearsome opponent in the game of hockey — Puck Luck. They had surrendered a goal on yet another shattered stick, a goal on the ever-popular bounced-off-the-official play and another on an apparent deflection that got by rookie phenom Jacob Fowler.

Hey, them’s the breaks, right? Sometimes, luck is the whole story of the game, the logic of Corsi be damned.

But the Canadiens had a force of their own. Big guy. Reminds us a lot of Peter Mahovlich, right down to the number on his jersey. Juraj Slafkovsky, No. 1 draft pick, work in progress.

In Tampa late Sunday afternoon (or perhaps it was early evening) Slafkovsky took command. There’s no other way to describe it. He was a 6-foot-3, 225-pound force and he was not going to be denied.

Early in the third period, Slafkovsky appeared to have set the ball rolling when he set up Ivan Demidov to cut the Tampa lead to 3-1 — but Pontus Holmberg answered for the Lightning 34 seconds later and it seemed the Canadiens’ fate was sealed.

But Slafkovsky was not going to give up. At the 9:16 mark, he pulled the Canadiens within 4-2 with his 12th goal of the season off an assist from Oliver Kapanen.

Noah Dobson made it 4-3 to set the stage for a thrilling finish. The Canadiens swarmed the Tampa net like angry hornets, but it appeared it wasn’t going to be enough until, with four seconds left, Slafkovsky scored again off a beautiful feed from Demidov to make it 4-4.

This is the part where we tell you that Cole Caufield then scored in overtime to give the Canadiens the dazzling comeback victory — but it didn’t happen. Caufield did his best in a period controlled entirely by the Habs, but failed to score and the Canadiens lost in the shootout.

Which takes nothing from the comeback or from the man who drove the bus on this night. Save some affection for repatriated Hab Phillip Danault, who won the faceoff that led to the tying goal, but this was Slafkovsky’s night, a key marker in his progress from highly debated draft pick to NHL star.

The Canadiens are 38 games into the season and the Kid from Kosice has 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points. Not dazzling numbers, perhaps, but well on the way to topping the 51 points he had last year.

It’s not so much the numbers that impress — it’s the demeanour on the ice. Slafkovsky radiates confidence and he’s growing almost game to game. He’s more patient, but he’s not afraid to pounce when the moment is there. He isn’t passing up shots. Most of all, he has that air of command.

It doesn’t hurt that he’s playing with Demidov, who may be the best forward talent the Canadiens have drafted since Guy Lafleur, or that he can connect with dazzling Lane Hutson. But when I posed the question as to which is the Canadiens’ true No. 1 line, someone responded: “Whatever line Slafkovsky is on!”

I have always been partial to the big Slovak. Partly because he reminds me of Mahovlich and partly because his sunny, easygoing disposition fits so well with this team and is such a contrast to Shane Wright, the guy the Canadiens were expected to draft.

Unless you’re Mario Lemieux, it takes time for the big guys. Mahovlich was 24 in his breakout 1970-71 season, when he scored 35 goals and added 26 assists. Slafkovsky won’t turn 22 until March.

Another black eye for Hockey Canada: In the wake of the junior hockey sexual assault scandal in London, Ont., that eventually led to the acquittal of the players, Hockey Canada supposedly went to great lengths to clean up the culture.

Then Dale Hunter was appointed to coach Canada’s world junior team. I mean, what did you expect? Hunter is a terrific hockey guy. He’s also a charter member of the old boys’ club that has run the sport forever, always along lines that Don Cherry would approve.

The result was predictable. Canadian players trying (and failing) to intimidate Czechs who happened to skate over the line during warmups, then Team Canada skating off the ice without shaking hands after a game they won.

C’mon. Don’t tell me the coaching staff wasn’t well aware that handshakes are standard protocol after international games. Hockey Canada apologized for what it called an “oversight,” but the oversight was giving Hunter the job in the first place. It’s disgusting, embarrassing and very much in keeping with what Hockey Canada has been since forever.

Hockey Canada CEO Katherine Henderson put her trust in one of the good old boys and got burned. We’re betting she’s way too smart to let it happen twice.

Heroes: Michael Hage, Ivan Demidov, Phillip Danault, Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Jacob Fowler &&&& last but not least, Juraj Slafkovsky.

Zeros: Dale Hunter, Hockey Canada, shattered sticks, Wayne Gretzky, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria.

Now and forever.

jacktodd46@yahoo.com

jacktodd.bsky.social

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