Bad News at Montreal Canadiens Practice as Juraj Slafkovski Suffers Minor Injury: Latest Update

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Daniel Lucente
October 18, 2024 (4:57 PM)

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Juraj Slafkovski of the Montreal Canadiens appears to have suffered an unfortunate injury to his shoulder during practice today that will lead to him missing time.

It's been a pretty lousy last 24 hours for the Montreal Canadiens, and it could get even worse. The defeat to the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre on Thursday night was only part of the bad news. It was announced following the game that both of Montreal's top defensemen, Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson, were under evaluation for upper-body injuries, placing the Habs' blue line on thin ice. Coming early in the regular season, the potential losses could have a snowball effect on an already shaky performance by the team.

The bad news didn't end there. During the Friday morning Canadiens practice, forward Juraj Slafkovsky became the latest addition to the team's injury woes. Following a routine shot on goaltender Cayden Primeau, Slafkovsky was seen apparently injuring his left shoulder. Video shared by Da Footy MD on X showed the young Slovak clearly frustrated, shaking his head before heading into the locker room at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. This has raised eyebrows, given he has been hurt more often than not of late.

The Slafkovsky situation remains very cloudy, and head coach Martin St. Louis has kept hush about the condition of the forward. When asked if Slafkovsky would travel with his team on their road trip to New York, St. Louis said he would. When asked if he would play, the coach simply said, "I don't know." This cloudiness of Slafkovsky's availability only further complicates the Habs' roster decisions in advance of a tough stretch of games.

This injury scare has also piled up when Montreal is already dealing with multiple long-term absences. With the likes of forwards like Patrik Laine and Rafael Harvey-Pinard out hurt, adding Slafkovsky to the list would definitely make the Canadiens undermanned up front.

Coupled with potential absences by Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson on the blue line, there could be some big gaps throughout the lineup in the offensive and defensive ranks of this team. Injuries-wise, Juraj Slafkovsky missed the last three months of his rookie season and underwent medical procedures after the 2023-24 season, adding more question marks to his durability going forward.

Coming off a shaky 2-3-0 start to the season, the Canadiens face their biggest test yet as they prepare to take on the New York Islanders on Saturday. As injuries start to pile and the season is at risk of being derailed too early, the Habs need to gather together what's left of their players to somehow stay in the game. The loss of Juraj Slafkovsky now would mean just another interruption, but the team doesn't have a choice but to push through and hope that their key players recover in time.