Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- “I was certainly furious,” Juraj Slafkovský said about his level of play that saw him benched for a shift on Tuesday. [La Presse]
- Arber Xhekaj immediately regretted his decision to try some new skates versus the Coyotes. [La Presse]
- Cayden Primeau isn’t among the ranks of people against the Habs’ current three-goalie system. “I’m a way better goalie now than I was at the beginning of the year.” [Montreal Gazette]
- “It’s definitely in the minds of the guys, but at the same time, it’s one of those things that you can’t control. So, what’s the point of worry about it?” Johnny Kovacevic says about the mindset in the days before the trade deadline. [Radio-Canada]
- Jayden Struble and Jake Evans took therapy days instead of practising yesterday. [RDS]
- Five things to know ahead of today’s game in Florida. [La Presse]
- The trip through the southeastern United States has become the most difficult road trip an NHL team can undertake. [La Presse]
- PWHL Montreal’s targeting of players with winning histories has translated into becoming the current top team in the new league. [La Presse]
Around the league and elsewhere
- The Calgary Flames traded Chis Tanev to the Dallas Stars in return for … very little. [NHL.com]
- Analysts Sean Gentille and Shayna Goldman gave Craig Conroy a grade of D for the transaction. [The Athletic]
- Connor McDavid’s drought is finally over. He now has a goal to go with his 25 assists over the past 11 games. [TSN]
- Will the Ottawa Senators ever find a starting goaltender? [La Presse]
- There’s also concern with how injury-prone top centre Josh Norris is. [Sportsnet]
- A report on Ottawa’s available players, which Steve Staios says doesn’t include Brady Tkachuk. [TSN]
- The Yzerplan is finally coming to fruition for the Detroit Red Wings. [TSN]
- Juuse Saros is likely to stay with the Nashville Predators through the deadline. [NHL.com]
- Goaltender Cal Peterson was placed on waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers. [TSN]
- Marat Khusnutdinov has signed his entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild. [TSN]
- The five players from the 2018 National Junior Team charged with sexual assault have opted for a trial by jury. [CBC]
- “The way it has been accepted by fans, by the marketplace, has been extraordinary. Way beyond our expectations,” admits PWHL ownership partner Stan Kasten about the league’s immediate success. [London Free Press]
- The PWHL also unveiled its playoff format, which sees the top four teams advance to two best-of-five rounds with the top seed getting to pick its opponent from among the third and fourth seeds. The league will also employ “The Gold Plan” in which draft order is determined by points earned by teams after they’ve been mathematically eliminated. [PWHL.com]
