Canadiens fans chant Slafkovsky's name after first NHL goal

When in doubt, wave.
Montreal Canadiens rookie forward Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first NHL goal on a rocket of a wrist shot in the second period of a 6-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

Slafkovsky was serenaded by the Bell Centre crowd after as they chanted the name of the No. 1 pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. From the bench, Safkovsky waved to the fans in recognition.

"There is nothing better that could happen after (my) first NHL goal than what happened out there," Slafkovsky
said following the game
. "It's amazing."
Later, Slafkovsky said that teammate Brendan Gallagher was trying to get him to stand up and wave, but he thought better of it and split the difference. All he could do was wave and smile and look up toward the scoreboard to see if he was on it.
Earlier in the night, the Canadiens and their top pick must have forseen a good night coming as they shared a pic of "Smilekovsky" before the win.

"I really don't remember how did I score the goal... I was focused more on the celebration than how did I score," he joked. "It tastes even better to win the game and score the first goal. It was great."