Canadiens' Juraj Slafkovsky takes therapy day, will not practice Friday

Juraj Slafkovsky will not practice with the Canadiens on Friday, two days after taking accidental contact to the head from Tom Wilson.

It's being called a therapy day for the 22-year-old winger. Vague wording after a head play tends to make Montreal fans reach for their phones.

The contact came Wednesday night during a 5-4 loss in Washington. It was the first meeting between these teams this season.

The play was accidental, and Wilson has moved on with 5 points through 7 games. Montreal's concern lives entirely on its own bench.

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Slafkovsky's start already had people talking for the wrong reasons. He has 1 goal and 3 points through 7 games.

The last five games have been rougher. He went minus-4 over that stretch, and only Jake Evans owns a worse rating among Montreal forwards in that span.

Canadiens can't absorb another absence with Montembeault on IR

So who fills the gap if he can't go Saturday? Ivan Demidov has dressed just twice this season, picking up 2 points in those games.

The roster is already stretched. Samuel Montembeault is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and is expected to be out until at least October 20.

That has handed the crease to two young goalies. Jakub Dobes is sitting at an .842 save percentage across 4 appearances.

Jacob Fowler has been the steadier of the two, posting a .906 and already banking a shutout.

Florian Xhekaj is also day-to-day with an undisclosed issue. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are allowing 3.9 goals per game.

Losing a winger now is like a diner losing its line cook on a Friday when the dishwasher already called in sick. The menu shrinks in a hurry.

At 3-3-1, Montreal sits seventh in the Atlantic. Not a crisis in mid-October, but not a cushion either.

The Sabres come to town Saturday night. The Canadiens edged them 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday, so there's no element of surprise left in this one.

Then there's the cap hit. Slafkovsky carries a $7,600,000 number, and that kind of money comes with expectations that don't pause for a therapy day.

Martin St-Louis should sit him Saturday if there's any doubt at all. Pushing a 22-year-old back from a head play to chase two points in October would be a bad bet.

Friday's therapy day answered nothing. Saturday morning will say more, and so will whatever the Canadiens decide not to say.

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