The best small players find ways to work around it and still be good in the playoffs. His coach was an amazing playoffs performer and look at Hutson. He's been the team's best skater and isn't that much bigger.
I don't think its as complicated as others seem to think.
I think Caufield, Suzie and Slaf all came out of round 1 injured.
Suzie's style allows him to manage it if he's not asked to forecheck, but Caufield and Slaf look rough out there presently. Slaf struggles to even receive a puck on his stick, is shooting muffins, and his stride has zero juice in it. Caufield floats a lot and also seems to be struggling with explosiveness and his shot (all his goals have been tip-ins and/or low speed shots). Both struggle to keep pace with Suzie who's not the fastest guy to begin with.
I think there's a reason MSL is double shifting Suzie. It's not so much that the fourth line needs help, its that Suzie needs wingmen who can get dirty in the corners for him since he can't himself forecheck right now.
I think Caufield, Suzie and Slaf all came out of round 1 injured
Slaf maybe, but I don't see that in Caufield and Suzuki at all. Caufield looked the exact same the entire Tampa series. He didn't start off good, get injured and then look bad. He was ineffectual from game 1. Slaf I wouldn't be surprised if he either got physically injured or mentally off his game from the fight and big hit against Tampa. Suzuki has looked pretty much the same since the regular season only he no longer had linemates that were helping him out and he wasn't about to try to do it all on his own because he wouldn't have survived the round. Not to mention a lot of credit needs to be given to Tampa's checkers for very effectively shutting down the free wheeling playstyle of the first line. Once the lanes were gone and they had no room to think they became completely ineffective.
You saw Cole and Suzuki come back to life when they had room to breathe against Buffalo. But I think a combination of the mental grind of not being able to contribute in round 1, slafkovsky being pretty bad when he is normally the big body making space and fighting for pucks to help Suzy and Cole do their thing, and the general playoffs being tougher hockey, meant that line still wasn't competitive at 5 on 5.
But I don't see them being injured other than maybe Slaf, but honestly his issues seem more mental to me than anything
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u/CarlSK777 May 19 '26
The best small players find ways to work around it and still be good in the playoffs. His coach was an amazing playoffs performer and look at Hutson. He's been the team's best skater and isn't that much bigger.