Montreal Canadiens news and notes
- “It’s sometimes hard to believe he’s only 21.” Mike Matheson praised Juraj Slafkovský’s ability to step up in the biggest moments. [TVA Sports]
- A loss to Sweden was just as good as a win for Slafkovský and Team Slovakia after he set up a last-minute goal to seal the goal-differential tiebreaker and win Group B. [RDS | The Athletic]
- Slafkovský is propelling Slovakia to new heights, but does he have enough support to sustain it? [The Athletic]
- Mike Matheson finds the long Olympic break bittersweet, getting to spend more time with his family, but knowing he had at least a shot of making Team Canada’s roster. [TVA Sports]
- “He can do things with the puck that few players in the world are capable of,” Max Pacioretty says of Michael Hage. [TVA Sports]
- Carey Price was the Canadiens’ best player of the opening quarter of the 21st century. [Montreal Gazette]
- Marie-Philip Poulin returned to action for the quarter-finals on Saturday and tied the Canadian all-time record with her 18th Olympic goal. [Montreal Gazette]
Around the league and elsewhere
- Kevin Fiala’s leg injury will force him to miss the remainder of the NHL season. [Sportsnet]
- Drew Doughty was surprised by all the questions about whether Thomas Harley deserved to be on Team Canada. [The Athletic]
- “Their worst player is going to be better than our top player,” Pierre-Edouard Bellemare admits as France prepares to play Canada, but says the aim for this tournament has always been for France to gain respect as a hockey nation. [NHL.com]
- Latvia has already earned that respect with its solid team play. This year, Dans Locmelis has helped turn that effort into a big upset of Germany. [NHL.com]
- With Sweden finishing third in Group B, their quarter-final could feature two teams who went to Milan with strong odds to stand on the podium. [Sportsnet]
