today 18:35
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Slovak hockey forward Juraj Slafkovský will be out of action for three months. However, his lower body injury does not require surgery. The overseas NHL club Montreal Canadiens reported about it on the official website.
Slafkovský did not finish Sunday’s game on the ice of the New York Rangers and subsequently underwent medical examinations. In the 52nd minute, he left the ice with a painful grimace and had difficulty reaching his left leg.
With an expected three-month absence, it is likely that he will no longer wear the Canadiens jersey in the ongoing 2022/2023 season, as Montreal is one of the weakest teams in the competition and is currently well behind the bars guaranteeing participation in the playoffs. The Canadiens will play their final regular season game on April 14 against Boston.
Less than a month later, on May 12, the world championships will start in Finland and Latvia. Considering the length of the expected game break, the probability that Slafkovský will also join the Slovak team is low. In the most valuable jersey, he shone with seven goals at the bronze World Cup in Beijing and also started at the past two World Cups.
Slafkovský, who was the first pick of the last NHL draft, played in 39 games in the current NHL season, scoring 10 Canadian points for 4 goals and 6 assists. In the statistics, he also has 33 penalty minutes and 13 minus points. The duel against the Rangers was Slafkovský’s fifteenth in a row in which he did not score.
Montreal also placed two other forwards, Joel Armia and Jake Evans, on the injured list. In addition, the club put Sean Monahan on the long-term injured list, who has problems in the lower part of the body.
