With the Montreal Canadiens struggling and looking to spread the skill to find a spark, one thing that needs to be considered is familiar to Habs management, coaching and fans alike.
Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are a line that works and with the team needing something to go right, the band should be put back together. Martin St Louis has made many different moves to try and get the best out of his forward group. But amid all the decisions, he has refrained from going back to what worked in the past.
Suzuki operates from the middle and ensures that the defence is supported, but he doesn't shy away from the offence. His vision and hockey sense pair well with the high-octane game of Caufield. Adding Slafkovsky into the mix gives the line a guy who can handle heavier forwards retrieve pucks and get them to the middle for scoring chances.
When the top line is clicking they are hard to play against and can hurt you in a multitude of ways. But head coach Martin St Louis saw a lack of balance in the top six and decided to make a change. This change has weighed down Slafkovsky, who will be playing on the fourth line on Tuesday night against the Utah Hockey Club.
Suzuki and Caufield are back together, which draws mixed opinions, in that some believe they hold one another back. But despite those thoughts, the duo is back together and Alex Newhook will slot onto the vacant wing. I like Newhook, but why not Slafkovsky - he has played with a struggling Kirby Dach - and unsurprisingly both players haven't looked too hot.
I think that it makes a lot of sense to balance the top six out so that there are two scoring lines. But the move hasn't been much of a success, and the team looks out of whack. Let's hope that St. Louis's latest moves work out, but I think we know what needs to happen.
Slafkovsky and Dach looking to flip the script
The word struggle has been synonymous with Slafkovsky and Dach's season - Dach seems to still be shaking off the cobwebs. While Slafkovsky appears to be going through a sophomore slump one season too late. Whatever the case is, the pair know they need to be better and whether St. Louis says it's to send a message or not, No. 20 and 77 should not be on the fourth line.
Saturday night against the Vegas Golden Knights was straight-out awful for the boys in bleu-blanc-rouge. A 6-2 loss, where the offence just couldn't get started and the team's performance overall wasn't very encouraging. But guys like Slaflkovsky and Dach have been invisible for a while, and that sticks out like a sore thumb when the rest of the offence sputters.
Tuesday night is a new game and new opponent, so it presents an opportunity for both player's to gain some traction.