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Habs Daily: Slafkovsky’s Beautiful Goal, Engstrom’s Stats, Markov
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- Habs Daily: Slafkovsky’s Beautiful Goal, Engstrom’s Stats, Markov
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Here are the Montreal Canadiens and NHL news items you may have missed on Tuesday.
Montreal Canadiens News
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The first line had a great outing, with Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Cole Caufield scoring in the game versus the San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately, the lack of discipline, as well a loss of focus, resulted in a 4-3 overtime win for the road team. [ Canadiens Highlights: Habs Burned By Lack Of Focus ]
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Juraj Slafkovsky absolutely dusted Darnell Nurse on Tuesday night, scoring one of the nicest goals of his career. Ironically, Kent Hughes signed Slafkovsky as a general manager, and as a player agent he also convinced the Edmonton Oilers to sign Darnell Nurse to a monster contract that carries a $9.25M annual average value. Okay, perhaps that's not irony. Frankly, I'm not sure what irony is. No one knows. And that, my friends, is irony. Maybe.
BEAUTIFUL GOAL BY SLAFKOVSKY!He burns Nurse before scoring to give the #GoHabsGo a 1-0 lead. https://t.co/srONlJLRM0
— Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) October 21, 2026
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You may have heard Adam Engstrom is struggling in the NHL this season, but that would qualify as an opinion. The fact remains that Engstrom has some of the best underlying numbers in the league, and is well ahead of every other Canadiens defencemen in expected goals for percentage. He's playing quite well, and helping the Habs win, despite the desire from some to see David Reinbacher take his place in the lineup. Speaking of underrated players, both Zachary Bolduc and Phillip Danault have done a great job in the puck possession department.
Phillip Danault currently leads all Canadiens players in xGF%, with Zachary Bolduc following suit.Adam Engstrom currently leads all defencemen, though he's played fewer games than most. #GoHabsGo (via Natural Stat Trick) https://t.co/OQNxb7qtzO
— Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) October 20, 2026
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One of the best defencemen in Canadiens history was in the building as the Habs faced the Sharks. Andrei Markov, also known as 'The General', was in town ahead of the Heritage Classic, set to take place on Sunday in Winnipeg.
You know him, you love him, the General is in the house: Andrei Markov https://t.co/5W2lHyEnlf
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 21, 2026
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As previously mentioned, the Canadiens clearly wasted an excellent effort from the first-line players.
NHL Game Score Impact Card for Montréal Canadiens on 2026-10-20: https://t.co/apde1Oleyb
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 21, 2026
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ICYMI:While the Canadiens tend to generate plenty of offence, they're not yet a strong defensive team. But now that Martin St-Louis has placed Lane Hutson on the top pairing and Adam Engstrom on the third, the defensive results have been much more encouraging. Granted, it's a limited sample size, but it's a great step in the right direction. [ Habs Stats: The Good, The Bad, And The Early-Season Ugly ]
Sportsnaut Network
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Through 11 games of the 2026-27 season, there's been a lot to like about the New York Rangers' defensive structure and performance. Their 2.18 goals allowed per contest ranks fourth in the NHL, and their 7-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday accounts for nearly a third of their 24 goals allowed. [ New York Rangers ]
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The New Jersey Devils wanted to be harder to play against. With the Colorado Avalanche in town, they converted on a big test. [ New Jersey Devils ]
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Matthew Knies was preparing for his season debut with the Maple Leafs, which was to be on Sept. 29. Those plans changed when Knies learned that offseason trade rumours finally culminated in a last-second deal to the Columbus Blue Jackets. [ Columbus Blue Jackets ]
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