Juraj Slafkovsky: Offensive Struggles & NHL Decline

It has been more than a month since Juraj Slafkovský was transferred to the second attacking formation. The Slovak striker regularly collects points and is able to assert himself even without Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. But has this change helped the Montreal Canadiens themselves?

The injury to Alex Newhook led the coach of the Canadian team to the decision to mix up two elite offensive formations. Zach Bolduc replaced Juraj Slafkovský and started playing next to the proven duo Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield. The Slovak moved to the second attack, where he is currently playing with newcomers Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.

Attentive fans, while watching the “Habs” matches, could notice that both formations defend significantly more since this change and spend time in their own defensive zone.

“It’s difficult to build chemistry in the middle of the season, but the difference in the results of the first formation with and without Juraj Slafkovski at 5v5 is impossible to ignore,” assessed the change of offensive trefoils editor Marc Dumont at sportsnaut.com after the opening games played with the new formation.

“We are not talking about a subtle statistical deterioration here, but a complete collapse. There are few teams that can boast of having an attack that controls more than 65% of the expected goals. From a statistical point of view, breaking such a formation is a cardinal sporting sin.” expressively commented on the decision of coach Martin St. Louisa at the turn of November and December.

After another three weeks, Marc Dumont returned to the topic of Juraj Slafkovský’s reassignment to the second formation. But the achieved results did not change significantly.

The season of the Montreal Canadiens was marked by the roster that coach Martin St. took care of recently. Louis. He creatively revived the play and development of the players – he moved Zack Bolduc to the elite attack and sent the Slovak winger Juraj Slafkovský to the lower formation.

They enjoy their game, but they do not achieve results

The formation consisting of Juraj Slafkovský – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov played together for more than a hundred minutes in a 5 on 5 game. This is a decent sample, based on which one can more objectively assess their impact on Montreal’s overall game. “Although the Canadiens overall improved slightly in overall shooting percentage at 5-on-5 (48.1%, 20th in the NHL), the second line is still under 40%,” looked at the statistics of the second offense Marc Dumont.

In practice, these numbers mean that with the newly created second formation, the Canadiens face significantly more shots than they produce themselves.

Compared to the beginning, they even worsened in almost all monitored statistical indicators. According to advanced statistics, they were worse than their opponents when playing 5v5. The opponent outshot them, had more dangerous opportunities and created better goal chances for a long time.

“The numbers clearly indicate that they were more lucky and that their opponent was more likely to continue to lose by a large margin and produce more chances,” adds Marc Dumont. Paradoxically, if the second line manages to create a goal-scoring action, it is usually worth it.

For a change, the first formation achieves better results, but compared to the cooperation with Juraj Slafkovský, it is also a significant drop. “My formation was not very good. We definitely need to be better than we were. I think if we were better we could have won,” captain and first team center Nick Suzuki poured ashes on his head after the second game of the weekend against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“The numbers indicate that Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are doing well without Juraj Slafkovski, and at the same time Juraj Slafkovski’s new attack is struggling. But watching the games sometimes shows the opposite. Juraj Slafkovski has always considered himself more of a playmaker. Now that he’s been given the chance to create more, it’s clear that he feels like a fish in water with the puck on his stick, making great passes for goals without preparation.” describes the situation in the team Arpon Basu of The Athletic.

Despite unconvincing statistical numbers, Juraj Slafkovský scores regularly. During December, he collected 12 points (4+8) in 13 games. With 25 points in 37 duels, he is the team’s fifth most productive player.

Slovak forward Juraj Slafkovský flashed with two Canadian points during the victory of the Montreal Canadiens on the ice of the Boston Bruins 6:2. The 21-year-old winger assisted Nick Suzuki’s goal and then scored himself in the end of III. thirds. Less successful was Martin Fehérváry, whose Washington Capitals lost to the New York Rangers by a high margin of 3:7. The Slovak defenseman spent over 21 minutes on the ice and presented himself mainly with solid defensive work.

A new reinforcement could be the solution

The situation with the lackluster performances of the second formation could be solved by a new reinforcement from the Los Angeles Kings. After five years, Philip Danault returns to Montreal. The experienced center was traded for a pick in the 2nd round of the 2026 draft. He is a defensive specialist whose career high is 54 points from the 2022/23 year.

“We realized that at this stage of the season we need more experience. Either in general or with the injuries. Everyone knows Phil and his game. It’s something that will help us this season and next season.” general manager Kent Hughes commented on the gain of the Canadian center.

Due to the lack of experience and popularity of Philip Danault in the Montreal Canadiens booth, it can be expected that sooner or later he will get a chance to replace Oliver Kapanen. The Finnish rookie is surprisingly the team’s second best scorer with 11 accurate hits. This is also due to a high 17.7 percent shooting success rate.

Slovak striker Juraj Slafkovský survived a wild but extremely successful evening on the ice of the Boston Bruins. In addition to an assist and a large portion of penalty minutes, he flashed a moment in the final 10 minutes that definitely brought the home “bears” to their knees.

“We still don’t know how Ivan Demidov would play next to another center, since he most often plays with Oliver Kapanen. And we don’t know how Oliver Kapanen would manage to score if he didn’t have an elite scorer like Ivan Demidov next to him. But we know that Oliver Kapanen’s high shooting percentage will gradually decrease.” points out Marc Dumont in his post.

The coaching staff led by Martin St. Louisom now has enough space to evaluate the experiment with Juraj Slafkovský in the second formation. During Christmas, the team has a well-deserved four-day break. They played 16 matches in 28 days.

However, the Canadian team cannot afford to slack off, they are only 3 points above the playoff limit in the table. In the event that the team needs a significant boost, it is quite possible that Juraj Slafkovský will reappear in the elite attack.