Montreal Canadiens top prospect Juraj Slafkovsky gets laid out for the second time in as many games

On Monday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens played to a 5-1 Leafs win. The game was firmly in the Leafs' control, save for a few solid scoring chances for the Habs - two belonging to 2022 1st overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky. Of course, we know how that worked out, with Matt Murray stonewalling the Habs' top prospect.

Something else happened to Slafkovsky during that game. He was absolutely pasted along the boards by winger Zach Aston-Reese. Well, tonight was another rough night for Slafkovsky, who was held pointless in over 22 minutes of ice time for the Habs, finishing with a -1 in a 5-4 loss. He was also levelled along the boards again, this time by Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub.

The more time that passes during the preseason, the more it seems like Slafkovsky is not ready for the NHL. It would not be shocking to see him sent down to the AHL's Laval Rocket or perhaps even to see him head back to Europe for one more year.

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