Slafkovsky gets 1st 3-point game, Canadiens shut out Ducks

MONTREAL -- Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and two assists for his first three-point game in the NHL, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-0 at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Slafkovsky, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, was playing in his 92nd career game and had his father watching from the stands.

“It’s great that he’s here and he got to see this,” Slafkovsky said. “I just can’t wait to see him and talk to him.”

Nick Suzuki had two goals and an assist, and Cayden Primeau made 13 saves for his first NHL shutout for the Canadiens (22-23-8), who were 2-5-1 in their previous eight games.

It was Primeau’s 28th career start, and first since Jan. 18.

“The guys played so well tonight, I wanted to get that shutout for them,” Primeau said.

Lukas Dostal made 33 saves for the Ducks (18-32-2), who lost their second game in a row after winning three of four.

“They were the faster team,” Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler said. “They put us on our heels all night. We took penalties, gave them odd-man rushes, all the things that you can’t do against a team that has some high-end skill and some quickness. Credit to them, they did a great job, but we made things a lot harder on ourselves than we needed to.”

Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov played 16:03 and finished minus-2 with one shot on goal in his first game since Jan. 9. The 20-year-old rookie, who was selected No. 10 in the 2022 NHL Draft, missed 11 games with a separated shoulder.

Jake Evans gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 1:43 of the second period with his first goal since Dec. 10 (24 games), a backhand over Dostal’s right pad.

Suzuki made it 2-0 at 9:37, driving to the net to redirect in Slafkovsky’s pass from the left side past Dostal. He extended his goal streak to four games and his point streak to eight (seven goals, seven assists).

“I think they did a good job of breaking pucks out,” Fowler said. “You have to give credit to them, they played a great game and they were obviously upset about what happened the game before (a 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday), and they showed it.”

Suzuki pushed it to 3-0 at 17:00 with a power-play goal, one-timing Slafkovsky’s cross-ice pass from the left face-off circle.

“Beautiful passes. Didn’t really have to do too much on them,” Suzuki said.

Slafkovsky extended it to 4-0 on the power play at 7:26 of the third, scoring from the right circle off Suzuki’s pass from the left side of the net.

“He’s a threat everywhere on the ice,” Canadiens forward Cole Caufield said about Slafkovsky. “He’s moving the puck, he’s skating, he’s protecting the puck. It’s fun to watch.”

Brandon Gignac scored his first NHL goal to make it 5-0 at 17:15. He shot over Dostal’s blocker off a pass from Kaiden Guhle on a 2-on-0.

“It wasn’t the easiest night, but obviously as a goaltender, you’ve got to be prepared for everything,” Dostal said. “I felt the five goals. I probably didn’t help the team much and I’ve got to look at the video and just see what I can do better next time.”

NOTES: Ducks forward Mason McTavish was minus-one in 15:24 of ice time after sustaining an upper-body injury during Anaheim’s 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. … Suzuki and Cole Caufield (11-game point streak from Jan. 11-Feb. 10) are the first Canadiens teammates to each have a point streak of at least eight games in a season since 1995-96, when Vincent Damphousse had a 10-game streak, and Martin Rucinsky, Benoit Brunet, Mark Recchi (twice) and Pierre Turgeon each had an eight-game point streak. … Slafkovsky, 19, who extended his point streak to six games (five goals, four assists), which is tied for the longest by a teenager in Canadiens history. Doug Wickenheiser had a six-game point streak in 1980-81. Slafkovsky is the 10th teenager to have a three-point game for Montreal, and the first since Alex Galchenyuk on Nov. 10, 2013.