Habs' Slafkovsky gets 2 games; Luff out 8-10 weeks after hit
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Montreal Canadiens rookie Juraj Slafkovsky has been suspended two games for boarding Matt Luff of the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
Luff, who was injured on the play, will undergo wrist surgery and is expected to miss 10-to-12 weeks, the Red Wings announced Wednesday.
Slafkovsky was ejected from his team's 3-2 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday for the hit. The No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft shoved Luff head-first into the boards as the Red Wings forward bobbled the puck in the neutral zone late in the third period.
Slafkovsky was assessed a major and game misconduct, picking up 15 penalty minutes to bring his season total to 19 through 10 games. The 18-year-old forward has three goals in those 10 games this season.
“As far as the hit, the right call was made. It’s unfortunate," Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said post-game. “It’s the exact hit you want to try to avoid, because of exactly what happened. A player got seriously injured. It is what it is. The right call was made. And we move on.”
“It was a bad hit and I think Slafkovsky knew it right away,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “But you can’t hit someone like that and it’s just scary to see a teammate, anyone, go into the boards like that. We’re really hoping he’s all right.”
Slafkovsky is the second member of the Canadiens to be suspended in the past four days after teammate Josh Anderson received a two-game suspension for boarding on Sunday.
Luff, 25, has one goal in seven games this season, his first with the Red Wings after spending last year with the Nashville Predators.