Martin St-Louis did well to limit Slafkovsky’s ice time last night

Juraj Slafkovsky has collected six points in his last nine games.

On paper, it would be easy to say that this is a relatively respectable production.

But even if he is scoring points, that doesn’t mean he is playing his best hockey of his career. Far from it, in fact…

The big forward was not playing the right way last night in Colorado and Martin St-Louis got fed up. He sent him a message by limiting his ice time in the 3rd period, so much so that Slaf was one of the least used forwards on the team.

He finished the game with 13 minutes and 25 seconds on the ice: only Brendan Gallagher (12:17), Emil Heineman (9:56), and Michael Pezzetta (4:32) played less than him.

And after the game, it was clear to see that Slaf was angry about the result even though his team had won:

Oof Slaf is pissed

pic.twitter.com/tyTGIYSMjl

— Pad (@paqdaddy) January 5, 2025

Is it a bad thing to see him replace his smile with frustration?

In my eyes, not necessarily. It shows that he wants to give more and that it matters to him.

Martin St-Louis said after the game that the difference right now with the team is that the guys are hungry. The fact that the Canadiens are just one point away from the playoffs at the time of writing is a good proof of that.

But we know what the problem with Slaf has been lately: he doesn’t always look like a guy who is hungry on the ice.

When we see him dragging his skates and playing softly, it doesn’t match the energy of the rest of the team.

 

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