Forget Suzuki and Caufield: the new duo is Slaf and Suzuki

Juraj Slafkovsky is the talk of the town these days.

The young man is exciting to watch because his progression is dazzling.

After all, the Slovakian boasts 41 points this season (73 games)… A production we didn’t necessarily expect to see in 23-24 for the first overall pick of the 2022 draft.

The #20 has been part of the first trio since December 4, and the results are interesting.

The proof?

Slaf has been involved in 50% of Suzuki’s goals since he was transferred to the club’s first unit… And Dany Dubé has seen enough to say openly (98.5 FM) that there’s better chemistry between Slaf and Suzuki than with Caufield :

There’s even more chemistry between Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky than with Cole Caufield. – Dany Dubé

Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky complement each other well because they have different styles.

Slaf is big, he uses his body to create space on the ice and he’s not afraid to go into the corner to get the puck.

This is perfect for the captain because it frees up space for him on the ice too. Suzuki finds himself in the danger zone more often because attention is riveted on Slaf when he has the disc, which isn’t always the case with Caufield because of his size.

Suzuki and Caufield make a good duo because they can be anywhere on the ice, but the real duo we’ve seen for several games now is Suzuki and Slafkovsky.

And if they’re having a quiet night, the Habs are having trouble scoring goals.

Slowly but surely, Juraj Slafkovsky is becoming the club’s offensive engine, and that’s just fine. The Habs have placed him in a favorable situation for his development, and that’s nothing to sneeze at either.

Would Slaf be as good today if Martin St-Louis hadn’t put him on the club’s first line back in December? Probably not.

The coach’s decision is to be applauded… Because we can see how positive it is right now.

Overtime

– Oh!

– Ark.

– Yikes.

– Nice contest!

– Sad news in the sports world. 35 years old…