Achi news desk-
Juraj Slepkowski scored his first career hat trick, and the Montreal Canadiens handed the struggling Philadelphia Flyers their eighth straight loss with a 9-3 blowout victory on Tuesday night.
The 20-year-old Slepkowski gave Montreal a 4-0 lead with his third goal in a burst midway through the second half and received a deafening ovation from the Bell Center crowd when the goal was announced.
Christian Dvorak – in his return from a 42-game absence – and Brendan Gallagher scored twice while Josh Anderson and Joel Armia also found the back of the net for Montreal (30-36-12). Sam Montembo made 32 saves and Jordan Harris had three assists as the Canadiens snapped a three-game skid.
Ryan Poehling had two goals and Joel Farby also scored for struggling Philadelphia (36-32-11), which suffered another blow in its late-season playoff chase.
Samuel Arson stopped 12 of 17 shots before getting the hook in the second period. Backup Ivan Pedotov was 10-of-14.
The Flyers entered Tuesday’s game one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for second in the Eastern Conference and two points back of the New York Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division with one game remaining.
They fell out of a playoff spot for the first time in months after Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Columbus with three games left in the regular season.
Flyers captain Sean Couture returned from missing two games with a shoulder injury.
The Canadiens jumped on the Flyers early and opened the scoring 1:05 into the game when Mike Matheson’s one-timer deflected Slepkowski’s skate into the back of the net.
After Montambo denied several Flyer opportunities, Salpkowski added his second at 8:43 of the second period, finishing off Nick Suzuki’s slick feed to spark a Canadiens onslaught.
Gallagher made it 3-0 with a layup at 10:46 before Slepkowski buried his hat trick 26 seconds later.
Drafted first overall in 2022, Slepkowski is coming off 19 goals and 48 points this season after a lackluster rookie year and a slow start to the season.
Anderson entered the action at 12:42, snapping a 16-game goalless streak. With Pedotov in net, Dvorak made it 6-0 at 15:27 as the Flyers looked lifeless.
Poehling got Philadelphia on the board with a handball goal 4:54 into the third to break up Montembo’s shutout bid.
Dvorak scored his second to restore the six-goal lead at 10:06, and Gallagher made it seven with another 73 seconds later as “Ola, Ola, Ola” echoed around the arena.
Farby and Poehling scored to cut the lead before the final buzzer, but the deficit was too great to erase.
Ermia added a ninth goal for Montreal with less than two minutes remaining.
Analysis for Xhekaj
The Canadiens announced this morning (Tuesday) that defenseman Arber Xhekaj will be out of shoulder surgery on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Xhekaj was injured in a 7-4 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning last Thursday and will undergo shoulder surgery for the second straight season. A procedure on his right shoulder in February 2023 shortened his 2022-2023 campaign. The Canadiens expect the rough-and-tumble blueliner to recover in time for the start of next season.
Xhekaj 2.0
Keeping it in the family, Florian Xhekaj, Arber’s younger brother, signed a three-year contract with the Canadiens later Tuesday. The 19-year-old was selected by the Canadiens in the fourth round (101st overall) of last year’s NHL Entry Draft. He will join Montreal’s American Hockey League affiliate Laval Rocket after producing 34 goals and 31 assists in 63 games for the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs this season.
the next
Canadiens: Open a three-game road trip against the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Flyers: Wrap up a four-game road trip Thursday against the New York Rangers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 9, 2024.
