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Juraj Slafkovsky is using his shot and physicality a lot more recently
Jonathan Di Gregorio
Juraj Slafkovsky is using his shot and physicality a lot more recently
Credit: Getty Images
Juraj Slafkovsky is playing big hockey right now as the Habs are in the thick of the playoff race.

Last night, his two goals helped the Habs come back from behind and grab a big point against the Colorado Avalanche.

Since the 4 Nations break, Slaf has been on fire with an average of a point per game, with 13 points, including 8 goals, in 13 games.


Let’s remember that the Habs have only suffered one regulation loss during this sequence (8-1-4).

In fact, we have to go back to the last game before the 4 Nations break to see the start of Slafkovsky’s sequence, when he had an assist in the Habs’ loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But beyond his offensive production, we can observe several changes in the Slovak’s game.

First, he is much more physically involved and doesn’t hesitate to use his 6-foot-3 frame to hit and check his opponents.

This makes the first line much more effective on the forecheck, as Slafkovsky brings a robust element that Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield don’t have.

But most importantly, Slaf is using one of his best assets: his shot.

Since the 4 Nations break, the forward has 40 shots in 13 games, or an average of 3.1 shots per game, whereas he was only shooting 1.3 times per game (71 shots in 53 games) before the break. It’s day and night.

We’ve been saying it for a long time: Slafkovsky needs to shoot more. In his career, his shooting percentage is 13.1%, and this year it’s 14.4%. It doesn’t take a great statistician to calculate that more shots = more goals.

And we see the result with his 8 goals in 13 games.

Are we finally seeing the emergence of the first overall pick in the 2022 draft?

Let’s hope so, and especially that he can replicate this level of play over the course of a season, because we’ve already seen good sequences from the Slovak player in the past, but without necessarily having consistency.

However, for now, the most important thing is that Slafkovsky has really elevated his game when the Habs needed it most.


Overtime

– What do you think?

– The brackets are announced.

– Wow!

– Sad news.

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