Juraj Slafkovsky has only had to take 32 faceoffs in 137 games since the start of his career. And yet, the young forward practiced in the middle of the circles with the other Montreal Canadiens center players on Thursday in training, with specialist Marc Bureau.
Lucas Condotta, Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook, Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak, Kirby Dach and Slafkovsky worked on this aspect of the game in Brossard.
Why was Slafkovsky there, acting like an intruder? The Slovak has played center in the past, it seems, and we want him to be effective if his companion is chased off the faceoff by the referee.
“He’s strong,” Suzuki said. He has played center in the past and taking faceoffs in the NHL is not the same as in junior. He certainly has the size and physical strength to excel in this aspect.
As with everything in life, the experience will only make Slafkovsky better, the captain believes.
Beyond the faceoffs, the big man will want to bounce back on Saturday when CH receives a visit from the Golden Knights. Slafkovsky was benched by Martin St-Louis after a few bad appearances during his team’s last game, against the Edmonton Oilers.
In 16 games this season, he has 11 assists, but only one goal.
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