"Might be going down here": Juraj Slafkovsky on his thoughts right before "sandwich" hit on Steven Lorentz with Arber Xhekaj
In the third period of the Canadiens-Panthers game on Tuesday, the Habs' Juraj Slafkovsky and Arber Xhekaj sandwiched the Cats' Steven Lorentz with a hit near the neutral zone.
Following the game, Juraj Slafkovsky described the hit he and Xhekaj executed on Lorentz. Slafkovsky said that he saw Xhekaj coming in the same direction he was heading.
Here's the video of the hit:
Initially, he thought that he might end up going down on the ice due to the collision, but, luckily, he wasn't in the middle of the hit, so he could stay upright and avoid getting knocked down due to the hit.
Here's what Juraj Slafkovsky said about the sandwich hit with Xhekaj:
"I saw Arber was coming, and I was already going there, so I thought I might be going down here *laughs*, but I wasn't in the middle, so I was good."
The display from both the young Habs guns showed how players need to be aware of their positioning and the movements of their teammates to execute hits effectively while staying safe on the ice.
The contest ended with the Montreal Canadiens beating the Florida Panthers 5-3 at home in Centre Bell Arena.
How Juraj Slafkovsky and Canadiens beat the Panthers
Anton Lundell put the Florida Panthers up 1-0 at 9:16 of the first period, picking up a loose puck in the left circle to slot it for a snap-shot goal.
Just over a minute later, Joel Armia tied it for the Canadiens by scoring from the left faceoff circle. At 13:13, Aleksander Barkov made it 2-1 for the Panthers after scoring on Vladimir Tarasenko's pass from below the left circle.
Coming into the second period, Nick Suzuki tied it 2-2 for the hosts after intercepting Dmitry Kulikov's attempt to beat Mike Matheson for a wrist shot. Suzuki scored his second and made it 3-2 for the Canadiens at 12:24.
Just 33 seconds into the third period, Cole Caufield extended the Habs' lead to 4-2 before Jake Evans' short-handed goal made it 5-2 for the Canadiens. Panthers' Sam Bennett scored at 18:43 for a final scoreline of 5-3.
Juraj Slafkovsky had a point in the contest. He and the Habs next face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.