For the first time this season, the Montreal Canadiens have won three games in a row. Capping off a very successful home-and-home against the Detroit Red Wings with a decisive 5-1 win, the Habs have just one more game left before they’ll get their Christmas break. Win or lose in that last game, they’ve given their fans some very encouraging signs during the holiday season, playing a brand of hockey that they can hopefully carry into the new year and beyond.
Juraj Slafkovsky on the top line has been a huge part of their recent success, as he’s playing some of his best hockey of the year since being put back in his old spot.
This is one of the main ways Slafkovsky can have an impact offensively. He doesn’t get the puck after Cole Caufield’s zone entry, but he recognizes the play developing and heads straight for the front of the net. When Nick Suzuki gets it, he’s perfectly positioned at worst to make this a tough save for the goaltender, and at best, to put it in himself as he ends up doing. It is just smart positional hockey, the likes of which make him a perfect third for the dynamic duo of Caufield and Suzuki. They’ve tried almost every option, but this is the best they have right now.
Things could change when Ivan Demidov comes to town, but until that happens, the team can’t afford to remove Slafkovsky from this line again. It is the trio that seems to get the absolute best hockey out of him, and they need him to continue on the path he started during the latter half of last season. Being on that line kick started his production last year – coincidentally right around this time of year – and it seems to be having that effect again. Alex Newhook looked pretty good in that spot for a time, but this organization has a much bigger investment in Slafkovsky, so they have to let this ride.
Interestingly enough, the other lines they’ve put together since moving him back have also been playing solid hockey. Everything seems to be falling into place, so there’s no reason to make any big changes. We of course can’t expect every game to look as good as the last three, and there will be some setbacks, but the configuration that they’ve got right now has produced some very good hockey over the last week. They can stop experimenting for a while, as they seem to have found the optimal lineup.
If they stick with it, we could see a second half of this season much like the one Slafkovsky put together last year.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back for the last game before the Christmas break this Monday night, when the Habs will be in Ohio to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
