Sad news for Montreal…

The Canadiens announced Tuesday morning that Slafkovsky will be sidelined for at least a week with an upper-body injury. Slafkovsky left practice early last Friday in Brossard, favouring his left shoulder after taking a shot on goal. The 20-year-old winger played in Saturday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders in New York, logging 15:57 of ice time and picking up two assists to give him 1-5-6 totals in six games.

The Canadiens had a day off Sunday and Slafkovsky didn’t take part in Monday’s practice at the Bell Centre. Slafkovsky skated Tuesday morning — along with Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who is still recovering from surgery on a broken leg in July — before his teammates took part in their morning skate.

The injury to Slafkovsky means Michael Pezzetta, who was a healthy scratch for the first six games, will get in the lineup for the first time this season against the Rangers.

“I’m definitely fired up,” Pezzetta said after the Canadiens’ morning skate. “You just wake up in the morning and you have a purpose day like you’re going to play. It just puts a smile on your face. You’re just ready to go. I couldn’t be more excited to get out there today and really get the legs going in the regular season now.

“For me, just keep it simple today,” Pezzetta added. “I haven’t played in a couple of weeks now so it’s just keep it simple, play hard, do what I’m good at. Simple hockey. Finish my checks, bring a lot of energy to the bench and kind of get my stride going.”

Last season, Pezzetta led the Canadiens with 242 hits, despite playing in only 61 games. Josh Anderson ranked second in hits with 169 in 78 games.

Kirby Dach, who has only one assist in the first six games after recovering from a season-ending knee injury suffered in the second game last year, will take Slafkovsky’s spot on the No. 1 line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Rookie Oliver Kapanen will take Dach’s spot on the second line with Alex Newhook and Joel Armia, while Pezzetta will take Kapanen’s spot on the fourth line with Christian Dvorak and Emil Heineman. The third line of Jake Evans between Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher will remain intact.