The presence of Josh Anderson on the Montreal Canadiens’ top line has been a point of contention among Habs fans this season. There have been moments where the trio works, but the majority of the fan base seems to agree that he doesn’t work consistently enough with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki to be holding that position. Alas, they weren’t problematic as a group in the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, and it seems the coaching staff has decided to continue with that configuration for the time being.
And a more important takeaway has emerged, because Juraj Slafkovsky, the player most fans would prefer to be seeing in Anderson’s place, is proving that he can be a play driver on any trio they put him on.
Skating with Sean Monahan and Joel Armia, Slafkovsky has simply continued doing the things that made him successful during his time on the top line. He forechecks aggressively, gets back on defence whenever necessary, and shows far more poise carrying the puck up ice than he did in his rookie season. He was noticeable in almost every shift he took, and while his lone goal came on the power play, it was the five-on-five play that really stuck out as a positive.
His line was the team’s best at even-strength in Pittsburgh, and the only line to have a positive shot-attempt share at 52.78%. They led the team in expected-goals share as well, coming in at 54.20%, a far cry from the team’s cumulative mark of 42.13%. Some credit is certainly due to Armia and Monahan, who have both been playing inspired hockey, but Slafkovsky is starting to look like a player that this team can build around individually.
That is Sidney Crosby he spins away from in his own zone, then turns on the jets, and ends up walking Kris Letang to get a chance on goal. There is the caveat of this being three-on-three, and the fact that he couldn’t bury the chance, but the confidence and skill it took to pull this off at all against players of that caliber is noteworthy. This is the kind of play he was making for Slovakia at the Olympics, which helped to put him in the first-overall pick conversation in his draft year.
The things Slafkovsky is doing are things that can elevate any line he’s placed on. This means the team could look to build him his own line next season, and he’s not dependent on Suzuki and Caufield to have success. The best configuration for this year’s team is probably to put him back on the top line, but the fact that his improved play appears to be of his own doing, and not as a passenger to his linemates, is an excellent sign.
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