Martin St-Louis does not remember a specific meeting with Nick Suzuki in November during which the Canadiens captain asked his head coach to put Juraj Slafkovsky on his line, as the analyst reported to Hockey Night in Canada Kevin Bieksa.
However, St. Louis said Slafkovsky was moved alongside Suzuki and Cole Caufield for the Dec. 4 game against the Seattle Kraken because he deserved it. It wasn’t because he felt bad seeing him struggle on offense.
“I always preferred not to give him too big bites,” St-Louis said after Tuesday’s 9-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, in which Slafkovsky scored his first hat trick in the NHL.
“We placed him on the second power play unit so that he would get touches in space,” he added. This helped him at five-on-five. I think he was ready for this challenge because I was comfortable with his defensive game. He did what we asked of him. He deserved the opportunity to play with our best players. Then he took off. »
Since that game against the Kraken, Slafkovsky has collected 17 of his 19 goals and 41 of his 48 points. All this in 54 meetings.
“He’s really gained confidence,” goaltender Samuel Montembeault said of Slafkovsky. Even on the power play, he’s really good. He knows where the puck is going before it even gets to him. It reminds me of [Nikita] Kucherov, who is good at that too. He’s good at finding guys at the mouth of the net. »
Slafkovsky noted that his three goals against the Flyers were scored very differently.
“The first one, I don’t even know how it happened,” he said, as a shot from Mike Matheson hit his skate before moving the strings.
“The second, “Suzy” (Suzuki) made a nice pass towards me at the mouth of the net,” he added. Then the third, “HP” (Rafaël Harvey-Pinard) made a good change after creating space. I received a good pass. I’m happy with every goal. I don’t care how you score. »
Very effective since the All-Star break
St-Louis recently praised Slafkovsky’s humility. The 20-year-old Slovak demonstrated this again by paying tribute to his teammates after the victory.
“He is a young player who understands the actions on the ice which are underestimated,” noted St-Louis before returning to the check from Harvey-Pinard which allowed Slafkovsky to escape and score his third goal of the match.
Since the All-Star break, Slafkovsky has now scored 12 goals and 16 assists in 29 games. He is part of the top 40 of the best scorers in the NHL during this period.
The qualities he has demonstrated on the ice in recent months are enough to make fans, and even his teammates, dream.
“I think he’s being more patient and trusting himself,” defenseman Jordan Harris said of Slafkovsky. I think he makes the right quick play if it’s there in front of him. But otherwise, he will find a way to protect the puck and make the right play.
“He doesn’t commit turnovers. He plays responsible hockey, he added. And now he’s getting rewarded. He uses his body and his size. Everything falls into place and it’s a scary mix of assets. I’m happy for him and I think everyone is starting to realize the player he can become,” he concluded.