Canadiens waiting on possible NHL discipline after Maxwell Crozier's hit on Juraj Slafkovsky
Photo credit: © Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Maxwell Crozier's hit on Juraj Slafkovsky puts Canadiens-Lightning Game 4 on edge.
This was not just a loud center-ice collision.
It was the kind of hit that changes a playoff series if the NHL decides the head was the main point of contact.
Slafkovsky entered this moment as a core Montreal Canadiens driver, not a passenger.
His 2025-26 line sits at 30-43-73, with 15 goals on the man advantage.
Montreal does not replace his net-front size with one lineup shuffle.
You can see the violence of the open-ice contact as Crozier steps up and Slafkovsky absorbs the worst of it.
The second post frames the debate bluntly, calling it a headshot and pushing for supplemental discipline.
Juraj Slafkovsky Forces Montreal Canadiens Into Survival Mode
Fans are right to be angry, because this is exactly where playoff hockey gets dangerous.
Crozier is 26, drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019, fourth round, 120th overall.
He is not a star asked to win the series with skill.
He is a depth blue line piece trying to close space, kill rhythm, and make Montreal's top-six hesitate.
A suspension would hurt Tampa Bay's defensive rotation, but no discipline would send Montreal a different message.
The Canadiens finished the regular season at 48-24-10, while Tampa Bay sat at 50-26-6 in the Atlantic race.
This series is too tight for emotional spillover.
Martin St. Louis now has to protect Slafkovsky without turning his bench into a revenge machine.
The next shift matters more than the next quote.
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