The Montreal Canadiens' top line didn't live up to expectations in the playoffs, but its members faced the music on locker room clear-out day.
Things didn’t exactly go as planned for the Montreal Canadiens’ top line in the playoffs, and just like Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky didn’t shy away from that fact or try to make any excuses.
That’s not to say the power forward enjoyed being asked about the situation, however. When it was put to him that while his line carried the Habs during the season, it could be asked if they did enough during the playoffs, he had a forced little laugh before saying “What a great question”, but he did provide a straight answer:
What a great question. Obviously, we all wanted more out of us, you know. In some games, I feel like we were almost trying to do too much, and it worked out less because of that. That’s how it is, you don’t have a lot of time to think during that, so you can’t get mad over one game. It was kind of a roller-coaster, which I don’t like, you know. You always want to improve your performance, and yeah, 100% it could have been better, but as I said, it made us better for next year.
There’s no denying that at times, the line and Slafkovsky, particularly, tried to do too much. It manifested in many of those backhand no-look behind-the-back passes, or in those skates around the offensive zone on the power play, when he was almost inevitably forced out of the zone or dispossessed. And of course, in all the times they chose to try an elaborate play instead of simply going for the shot. That acknowledgment was a welcome one, and the fact that he’s aware of it will no doubt make him better prepared for what’s to come in the postseason in the future.
Many wondered if the big Slovak wasn’t carrying an injury throughout the spring tournament, but he put that notion to rest when he was asked how he felt, especially after the first round:
I felt good. I don’t think we should blame anything on how our bodies feel, you know, you’re playing against guys whose bodies feel the same, you know. […] It’s a mindset thing at the end of the day.
He was then asked whether he felt close to 100% when the playoffs ended, and he replied with a simple "yeah." Of course, it would have been surprising if he came out and said he suffered a concussion in the first-round after that punch from Brandon Hagel or that hit from Max Crozier, but it was nice to see him not go for the easy way out.
Like most of his teammates, he was asked about veteran Brendan Gallagher and what he learned from him. He started with a joke, before delivering a more meaningful answer:
That you can go headfirst everywhere. That’s what I do sometimes anyway. No, but just the way he works every day and how he plays for the logo, doesn’t care about himself and just cares about the team. Like I said, one of the best guys I could ever play with.
There's no doubt that when the next season starts, Slafkovsky will recall being asked about his line's underwhelming playoffs and will use that as motivation.
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