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Juraj Slafkovsky will be back in Canadiens lineup vs. Maple Leafs

No. 1 draft pick gets the call after Jonathan Drouin is sidelined with an illness for preseason game in Toronto.

Author of the article:

Stu Cowan  •  Montreal Gazette
Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky carries the puck during NHL preseason game against the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre on Monday night.
Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky carries the puck during NHL preseason game against the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre on Monday night. Photo by Eric Bolte /USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO — Juraj Slafkovsky, the No. 1 overall pick at this year’s NHL draft, will be in the Canadiens’ lineup for the second straight preseason game Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m., SN1, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

The original plan was to give Slafkovsky the night off after he played in Monday night’s 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre. But head coach Martin St. Louis decided to play Slafkovsky again after Jonathan Drouin became unavailable because of an illness.

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Slavkovsky will be at left wing against the Maple Leafs on the No. 1 line with Rem Pitlick at centre and Joel Armia at right wing.

The Canadiens players taking part in the game skated Wednesday morning at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard before flying to Toronto.

Filip Mesar, the Canadiens’ second pick in the first round (26th overall) and Owen Beck, the first pick in the second round (33rd overall), will also play in their second straight preseason game against the Leafs.

“They’re kids that could potentially go back to junior, so the further along we go into camp the closer we want to get to our team so we need to evaluate probably the younger guys more early on,” St. Louis told reporters in Brossard after the morning skate.

Canadiens fans will also get their first look at left-winger Emil Heineman in a preseason game. The Canadiens acquired Heineman last February as part of the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames. Last season, Heineman had 11-5-16 totals in 38 games with Leksands in the Swedish Hockey League.

“He’s got a really good release,” St. Louis said about Heineman. “It’s heavy and it’s really hidden. I think it’s a hard shot for the goalie because he hides his release pretty good. Great speed, plays heavy. I’m looking forward to see him.”

After acquiring Heineman in the Toffoli trade, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes said: “We love his speed, we love his aggressiveness.”

Hughes added: “He’s also a very physical, competitive hockey player with great character.”

Samuel Montembeault will start in goal for the Canadiens against the Leafs.

Slafkovsky logged 16:59 of ice time during the preseason opener against the Devils with no points, one shot and two hits, along with a penalty for goalie interference.

“I thought he was fine,” St. Louis said about Slafkovsky’s performance after that game. “I thought he had good jump. It looked like he was having fun out there. He was asking questions and when we took the too-many-men (penalty) he looked at me: ‘Should I go serve it?’ I’m like: ‘Why not?’ It was good.”

scowan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/StuCowan1

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