Juraj Slafkovsky: Pump Fake around Strong Side D
Juraj Slafkovsky has continued to get better throughout the final stretch of the season for the Canadiens, a time where Montreal really needs him to be playing at his best in route to a potential playoff push. Slafkovsky, on pace for 51 points on the season now, showcased some really nice finesse and skill on his goal last night against Seattle.
First, it was the off puck positioning that really stuck with me in watching Slafkovsky in his reload inside the neutral zone and how he’d come under the puck to support through the middle on entry. Slafkovsky did a great job recognizing his options and recognizing he needed to support his winger on the entry, and realized right away he could make himself a pass option in neutral ice.
By curling under the puck and then coming through the middle for support, Slafkovsky recognizes that the puck could get bumped to him coming middle, and he did a great job keeping his stick flat on the ice so he could be in position to receive it.
On entry, Slafkovsky does a terrific job outmaneuvering D1 Ryker Evans with pace and using a pump fake. Evans has a wide stance, but all his weight is leaned forward, not allowing him to adapt to the pump fake Slafkovsky uses to maneuver around the strong side of his body. With that, Evans doesn’t pivot in time to catch Slafkovsky, and Slafkovsky is able to get in route to the net with ease.
The dynamic handling from Slafkovsky was also deceptive in the sense of how Slafkovsky was able to maneuver the pressure, get around Evans, and then look to attack the net right away in this situation.
On the shot, Slafkovsky does a terrific job attacking the short side post area and going top shelf past Daccord effortlessly.