The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens continue their preseason game and as heated as it has been, Marshall Rifai brought the fire vs. Juraj Slavkofsky.
While the rivalry between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs is one that's been around for over a century, every time the teams decide to face off it's like they are fighting for the last crumb on the plate; with fights, dirty hits and unruly fans to really add to the atmosphere.
So when the two teams faced off against each other in preseason action on Saturday night, there was a bit of extra heat heading into this one. Toronto is looking to continue their momentum and Montreal is trying to bounce back from a loss to Toronto two days prior. But when Juraj Slavkofsky decided to test his might against the Maple Leafs' Marshall Rifai, he learned the hard way that sometimes it's better to skate away.
Watch Fight Here - Marshall Rafai vs Juraj Slafkovsky
The Montreal youngster decided to square off with Rifai, a defenseman still trying to earn his shot with the Maple Leafs, however it looks like this wasn't Rifai's first rodeo as he absolutely pummeled the Montreal forward before ending it with a single haymaker. All Slavkofsky could do was pull some hair and try and throw a couple shots but it was all for not.
Slavkofsky, drafted 1st overall by Montreal in 2022, enjoyed a very successful 2023-2024 season as he settles into the NHL, scoring 20 goals and 30 assists while playing in all 82 games. Montreal struggled last season but Slavkofsky was a bright spot, often entertaining the Canadiens crowd with goals like this:
Toronto signed Rifai to a two-year extension this offseason and he is still looking for his spot on a suddenly fairly deep Toronto defensive corps, He played two games for the Maple Leafs in 2022-2023 but spent all of last season with the Marlies, scoring 2 goals and 17 assists in 59 games. He's a big defensive body who doesn't mind throwing it around something both Craig Berube and Brad Treliving can appreciate.
It's just another notch in the belt which is the forever rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.
