Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky is being punished by the NHL for no valid reason

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Jim Sullivan
November 20, 2024 (5:14 PM)

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After a convincing 5-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Montreal Canadiens shut out the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Monday night.

This victory was very good for Martin St-Louis' men, not only because of the two points added to the standings, but especially because of the way the team behaved throughout the game.

That saying, even if the Habs game system has been criticized many times in recent weeks, the defensive brigade did a remarkable job this time, preventing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl from getting dangerous opportunities.

In addition, the offense did well by hitting the target three times. The Canadiens' big guns stood up as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Mike Matheson all contributed to one of the three goals scored by the CH.

On the other hand, a certain Juraj Slafkovsky was robbed of a point by the NHL.

As a mather a fact, number 20 of the CH deserved an assist on the winning goal scored by Brendan Gallagher late in the second period.

After winning a battle behind the net, Juraj Slafkovsky fed the puck to Mike Matheson at the blue line. The defenseman then directed a shot towards the Edmonton Oilers' goal, allowing Brendan Gallagher to deflect the puck past Stuart Skinner to open the scoring.

"Hey NHL, you think the puck had wings and flew to Matheson? Give Slafkovsky the assist he deserves for getting the puck to Matheson. It's a no-brainer. There is no goal without Slaf's play.

Ekholm did NOT pass the puck to Matheson. Slaf did it with a flick of his skate... that Ekholm's stick got in between them is irrelevant. [Slaf's play] is literally the definition of an assist, right?" - Grant McCagg

It's perfectly normal that a play like that would have slipped through the cracks of the officials at the time. However, it's unacceptable that the NHL, as of this writing, has yet to make a change to give the Montreal Canadiens forward an assist.

It will be interesting to see if Juraj Slafkovsky is finally credited with an assist in the coming days.

Despite a rather rough start to the season, the first overall pick in the 2022 draft has recorded 11 points in 16 games, which equates to a pace of about 56 points over a full 82-game season.