Juraj Slafkovský says it does not matter who scores for the Montreal Canadiens as long as they keep winning, and right now that is the only thing that matters. The Canadiens lead the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in their first-round playoff series, and their top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Slafkovský still has not scored a five-on-five goal.
The line has still made its mark on the series. Slafkovský scored a power-play hat trick in Game 1, and the trio has produced on the man advantage even while waiting for its first even-strength breakthrough. On Friday night, Suzuki said the Lightning were game planning hard on his line, and Slafkovský, after an optional practice Saturday at Bell Centre, said the score sheet matters less than the result. “I don’t think it really matters who scores the goals,” he said. “It matters that we win the game.”
That tension has been obvious in the way Tampa Bay has handled Montreal’s best line. Lightning coach Jon Cooper has matched Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel against Suzuki’s group, a plan he said the club had put in to slow it down. “It’s a game plan we put in,” Cooper said, adding, “I wouldn’t sit here and say everything’s worked for us, but that sure has.”
Montreal coach Martin St. Louis has taken the longer view. He said he was confident the top line would break through because “you’re talking about really elite players,” and noted that he had split Slafkovský from Suzuki and Caufield for a good chunk of the season. St. Louis also said the line’s hard assignments help the rest of the roster breathe. “They have a hard matchup, and I’m OK with who they’re on the ice against,” he said. “Those guys, they’re always a big part of our success, whether they’re on the scoresheet offensively or not, because they rack up a lot of minutes against some really good players. So, they’re going to be fine.”
That was the tradeoff again in Game 3, when the Canadiens won 5-4 behind depth scoring and Kirby Dach’s newly formed line produced all three Montreal goals. The Suzuki line was eating the harder minutes so the rest of the team could thrive underneath them, and St. Louis said he would keep trying to help them during games without losing sight of the bigger picture. “What if they go explode five-on-five and we lose 5-4? What are we going to talk about?” he said. “That’s a great job, you got the first line going, but we lose the game. So it’s a fine line.”
For Montreal, that line is still the center of the series even without a five-on-five goal, and the next step is plain enough: if the Canadiens keep this lead, they can afford patience. If they need another goal from Caufield and his linemates, they know the Lightning will keep treating them like the main threat.
