After a much-needed holiday break, the Montreal Canadiens resumed their road trip on Sunday night in Florida against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bad bounces and broken sticks saw them down 3-0 going into the third period, and it felt like they were going to lose despite a pretty good overall showing through 40 minutes. Instead, they orchestrated a thrilling comeback, forcing overtime and taking one point before succumbing in the shootout.
As disappointing as the final result was, their resiliency was commendable. Moreover, that comeback never would have been possible without the brilliance of Juraj Slafkovský, who has been on an absolute tear of late.
Qui d'autre! Juraj Slafkovský envoie tout le monde en prolongation 🔥#GoHabsGo sur RDS 📺 pic.twitter.com/u6401V0boI
— RDS (@RDSca) December 29, 2025
Slafkovský now has eight points in his last five outings, headlining a second line that has really stepped up for the Habs. He’s now on pace to reach the 60-point plateau for the first time in his career, and while that might not be a crazy feat in today’s NHL, it isn’t so much about the points, but how he’s finding success right now.
He’s very happy to take space on the outside, drive low in the zone with the puck and create from the corners or behind the net. He seems to crave contact, fighting through it and forcing the opposition to send help to come and deal with him, creating open space for his linemates. If you play wider to stop that drive to the outside, he’ll happily take the middle of the ice, and hit you right down main street, where he seems to have shooting confidence on a level we’ve never seen from him.
The 60-point pace would be a career high, and yet, over the last 10 games, his point pace is closer to 100 points over an 82-game season. Second-half Slaf has shown up well before game 40 this year. He’s at his absolute best, which couldn’t be more important for the Habs with their top line on a bit of a downturn while they compete to stay near the top of a very competitive Atlantic Division.
NHL GameScore Impact Card for Montreal Canadiens on 2025-12-28 pic.twitter.com/EvK79CCu0x
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) December 29, 2025
Slafkovský was the best player on the ice, but among Montreal forwards, it was wholly unsurprising to see his linemates Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen following him. For all the talk about how the Habs need to add a true second-line centre, which is undoubtedly still at the top of their wish list, they’ve put together an incredibly dangerous second line. There’s no doubt they’ll still look to add to their roster at some point, but this line taking off removes some of that urgency, and affords Kent Hughes the immensely valuable resource of time. He can be patient.
Patience, coincidentally, was something preached early and often when it came to Slafkovský’s development. If this is the form we can expect from him more often during his career, it was well worth the wait.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back on Tuesday night, when the Habs continue their road trip against the Florida Panthers.
