Every year, as the calendar slowly turns into the month of April, you start to get some real previews of what the NHL playoffs will look like. Tuesday night was one of those previews, with the Montreal Canadiens taking on a likely first-round foe in the Tampa Bay Lightning. It had all the checking and intensity of a playoff game, as the players knew how important the game could be for the final standings, on top of wanting to set the tone for a potential seven-game series to start between them in a few weeks. They’ll have one more meeting before that could potentially happen, but the Habs took this one to send a message that they’re not the same team Tampa beat back in 2021.
Juraj Slafkovsky wasn’t around for that series, and if his performance last night is any indication, he’s ready to be a difference maker if he gets the chance this time.
Great work by Juraj Slafkovsky, and this is as easy as they come for Cole Caufield.
2-1 #Habs pic.twitter.com/xits1vX04G
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 1, 2026
As they often do, the top line was leading the way offensively. Slafkovsky was particularly noticeable on zone entries, and with his puck protection – which is quietly becoming some of the best you’ll see in the league – in a game where time and space were very limited. Look no further than that Caufield game above to see how he was controlling plays. Every single Lightning player in the frame is staring at Slafkovsky, presumably worried about the possibility of him driving to the net. The result is that they leave one of the top goal scorers in the world all alone on the back door.
This kind of physically imposing performance has been present for Slafkovsky throughout the season, and will be crucial to any success the team hopes to have come playoff time. Size is a commodity that NHL teams have a tendency to overvalue, and overpay for, specifically to make themselves tougher to handle in the playoffs. The Habs have been patient with their rebuild, unwilling to overpay for that kind of player, so they’ll need a guy like Slafkovsky at the absolute top of his game. Right now, he looks like he’s there.
Now, he can’t do it alone, but he doesn’t have to. His linemates are among the elite players in the world at their positions. Jakub Dobeš turned in yet another stellar effort, steamrolling towards the playoffs while looking like a true number one goaltender. The production they’ve had from their blue line this season is second only to the Colorado Avalanche. They may not be the biggest and strongest team in the playoff picture right now, but they are a completely different team than the one that surprised by making the 2021 final, before being trounced by the Lightning. If their mission was to put Tampa on notice last night, they accomplished that.
And because they may come up against bigger, stronger teams, Juraj Slafkovsky has a chance to be perhaps one of the most important pieces on the roster when the games really start to count.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back after the Habs pay the New York Rangers a visit on Thursday night.