MONTREAL – Back on Jan. 13, the Montreal Canadiens were facing the Edmonton Oilers at home, and the line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský were faced with the enormous challenge of going head-to-head against Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
They got buried at five-on-five in terms of possession, but by the end of the night they held one of the most high-powered lines in the NHL to no even-strength goals while popping one in on the power play, with Suzuki hitting Caufield with a seam pass that we had grown accustomed to last season, but we hadn’t seen in quite some time.
The graphic on the screen, as the goal was scored, laid it out plainly.
That goal coming in a game with that matchup is significant, because Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovský were facing an elite line, and probably the biggest source of anxiety among the Canadiens fan base is the organization’s lack of elite talent.
Since that game, Suzuki is sixth in NHL scoring after putting up three points in a 5-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. He has only played two games since Jan. 13 where he failed to register a point, and he extended his current point streak to eight games, matching his career high.
Top NHL scorers since Jan. 13
The Canadiens’ power play since that game against the Oilers is clicking at 27.5 percent, seventh in the NHL over that span, and that success is being driven by that line. Slafkovský’s emergence as a shooting threat has opened up a world of possibilities for the power play, and their dominance on the power play is extending to five-on-five where, recently, the number of shifts where the Canadiens’ top line is playing in its own end is becoming increasingly rare.
“They want to improve, they want to be elite,” coach Martin St. Louis said. “If you’re the only one on your line working to be elite, it’s going to be tough, because it’s not an easy league. You need guys who want to reach that level, and when you’re surrounded with that, it helps you become elite and that’s what he’s showing us now. It’s fun to see.”
That word, fun, is important here, especially when it comes to Slafkovský. After the game against Anaheim, the beaming smile on his face said it all. He’s having fun. A few months ago, he was not. An answer like this coming from him at that time was not conceivable.
“It’s great to see it’s working like this,” Slafkovský said. “It’s fun right now and we’re getting better each and every game. It’s fun to see.”
Au tour de Nick de jouer les passeurs!
Nick’s turn to be the passer!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ah9GJLMlr4
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 14, 2024
Slafkovský had his first career three-point game against Anaheim, his two assists leading directly to Suzuki’s goals, and his goal coming directly off a pass from Suzuki that left him with an open net. Slafkovský has seven goals and five assists in his last 11 games, or two more points than he generated in 39 games in his rookie season.
As for Caufield, he is not on that graphic above showing the top scorers since Jan. 13, but he is tied for 16th on that list with 14 points in 12 games.
The choice of words for St. Louis to describe what that line wants to be should resonate with this fan base that is so riddled with anxiety over the lack of elite offensive talent.
“They want to improve, they want to be elite,” he said. “If you’re the only one on your line working to be elite, it’s going to be tough, because it’s not an easy league. You need guys who want to reach that level, and when you’re surrounded with that, it helps you become elite and that’s what (Suzuki) is showing us now. It’s fun to see.”
There’s that word again.
This is indeed fun for the Canadiens. It is fun for the organization, it is fun for those three players who are all a big part of their future, and it is fun for fans who have that anxiety.
Having this line in place is a clear building block. And Slafkovský’s role on that line cannot be discounted.
For all the highlights this line produced, this innocuous play midway through the second period jumped out.
Suzuki gets the puck near the blue line and sees nothing much in front of him in terms of options other than Slafkovský battling in front of the net with Cam Fowler. So, lacking any better options, he simply throws the puck behind the net, giving Slafkovský a chance to go battle for the puck. The play resulted in the Ducks exiting the zone because Fowler made an excellent play, but the fact Suzuki had the confidence in Slafkovský to simply throw the puck there said a lot about why this line is successful. It is because Slafkovský’s improvement in puck recoveries and board battles and extending offensive zone possession gives his linemates an outlet, an opportunity to reset in the offensive zone and attack once more. After all, Slafkovský can allow that opportunity when no other options seem available.
“He made a lot of great recoveries, especially on the power play,” Suzuki said. “It extends our time there and really tires out the PK. When you can get that amount of time, like a minute and a half in the zone, the PK’s dead and we can really abuse them at that point. Just his size and strength allows him to win puck battles on the boards, and we trust him to go do that, and we need him to do that to be successful.”
Caufield said that confidence comes from familiarity and collective confidence as a line that each member will do his job.
“I think when we throw it in his corner, it’s not just throwing it in Slaf’s corner,” Caufield said. “We kind of know he’s going to be there, and that’s kind of how we’re building our game. I think we’ve got predictability, and knowing where we’re going to be on the ice is huge, it makes you be able to breathe a lot more out there and have more time and space.”
The result of that consistent time and space and offensive zone time has been production. Elite level production for a month. When general manager Kent Hughes held his midseason media availability on Jan. 15, he was asked about being able to add a point-per-game player. Hughes said he never thinks of players in those terms, but how he’s noticed that’s a thing in this market.
Suzuki admitted that evening that he watched that press conference. Imagine what he might have thought upon hearing that question about how the Canadiens needed to add a point-per-game player.
Suzuki had two assists that night and has 16 points in 11 games since that question was asked.
Back in December, I spoke to Suzuki at length about his production this season, and he said he doesn’t look at “results stats” and that he is more focused on process stats that the Canadiens provide him, most importantly something called Offence Generating Plays.
On Tuesday morning, I asked Suzuki the same question, whether he is now looking at the “results stats” since they are so much more favourable to him. He entered the game Tuesday with 48 points in 52 games, or pretty close to a point per game, and now has 51 points in 53 games, so even closer to that magic mark. Suzuki insisted he didn’t look at them.
But when it was mentioned that there was anxiety he couldn’t be a point-per-game player, Suzuki let out a sly grin.
“Obviously,” he said, “I can.”
So he does look at results stats.
Over the last month, Suzuki has most definitely demonstrated that ability. All he needed was some consistent linemates who were on the same page as he was in wanting to be elite in this league.
(Photo of Canadiens celebrating a goal: Vitor Munhoz/NHLI via Getty Images)
