They should be using him in the slot more, but not just for tips, screens and rebounds. he should be used as a bumper/screen to caufield and suzuki. Slafkovsky gains the position, gets the puck and makes a 3ft pass. That's how tight I'm talking.
It would great too if they set up an obvious one-timer to the left of the dot, and have slaf actually kick it backward to Suzuki who snipes from the centre-right of the high slot, and just parking himself where he is so defenders can't reach suzuki in time. But of course that's an ideal set play, where in general the key is shot generation. We need to maybe recall Mallioux and get some more point shots through, and encouraging shooting from dangerous angles to keep the goalie honest.
If they can focus on a)making the goalie move b)creating chaos in the offensive zone, the shots will lead to goals, even if the shots aren't the most dangerous. I think the habs need to keep working on deliberate deflection plays (like that recent newhook goal from Matheson), slap passes (especially to Caufield in tight), and intentionally shooting for rebounds. They want to rely on flashier passing plays, which I think they can totally pull off at a greater rate IF they get defenders moving. To me, the best way to do that is to make the goalie make saves, and get defenders scrambling.
I like the player, i think he has potential but he sticks out like a sore thumb in a bad way when we have the man advantage . Caufield, suzuki, hutson and even matheson move it around so quickly and are able to process the play at a high rate and slaf just can’t
This part is a bit more on the team. In general, they need to move him to the middle. He's a smart player, but he can overthink. I would say he's a good
passer but not necessarily a
playmaker. When he's at his best, he's bringing defenders to him and dishing it off. That's a big playmaking element, but it happens in the trenches, and it happens when he's moving his feet. So other than on the rush, he needs to be in the slot, and put in a position to make those quick decisions off of a broken play or rebound etc. Putting him on the wall is not using him where he'd be best. I think a big part of that is the lack of lefty forwards who are PP-worthy. Demidov should hopefully shift Slaf elsewhere on the PP (maybe PP2?)