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It has been a month now since Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis decided to put Juraj Slafkovsky on the No. 1 line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield and that decision is starting to pay off.

During a tough stretch of seven straight road games over the holiday period, that line combined for 21 points as the Canadiens recorded a respectable 3-3-1 record. Suzuki had 4-5-9 totals, Caufield had 3-3-6 totals and Slafkovsky had 2-4-6 totals.

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St. Louis has been patient with Slafkovsky since the Canadiens selected him with the No. 1 overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft and the 6-foot-3, 230-pound winger is starting to pay the coach back for that.

The day before the draft, when asked why the Canadiens should take him with the No. 1 pick, Slafkovsky said: “I can play with those two guys (Suzuki and Caufield) and I think it can be a pretty good line that can make results at the end of the day. I think that’s important for Montreal.”

We’re seeing just how important now as the 19-year-old is starting to take some big steps in his progress.

“Playing with two great players helps a lot,” Slafkovsky said during a one-on-one chat after Thursday’s morning skate at the Bell Centre ahead of a game against the Buffalo Sabres. “I knew I can play hockey this whole time. It was just trying to find my game a little better and better and it’s finally coming together.”

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Slafkovsky said his confidence has grown over the 13 games since St. Louis put him on the No. 1 line, starting with a game against the Seattle Kraken on Dec. 4.

“I know even if we didn’t have the best game you still have that trust from the coach and that helps a lot,” Slafkovsky said. “We managed to stay together. I hope we’ll stay together as long as possible.”

When reminded about his comment the day before the draft, Slafkovsky smiled before saying: “And it happened in Year 2. It’s been a month that we’ve been playing together. I’m just super happy to be in this position. But, of course, I still want to work really hard so I stay where I am and I just want to get better.”

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Caufield also had a big smile when asked about St. Louis’s decision to keep the No. 1 line intact for the last month.

“That helps moving forward with chemistry and being consistent down the road,” said Caufield, who had scored goals in three straight games before facing the Sabres, giving him 11 on the season.

Suzuki is the straw that stirs the drink on the line made up of three first-round draft picks. The Vegas Golden Knights selected Suzuki 13th overall at the 2017 NHL Draft before dealing him to Montreal in the Max Pacioretty trade, while the Canadiens selected Caufield with the 15th overall pick in 2019. Suzuki is the oldest of the three at 24.

Heading into Thursday’s game, Suzuki was leading the Canadiens in scoring with 12-22-34 totals while averaging 21:02 of ice time and winning 55.9 per cent of his faceoffs. Suzuki had only been held off the scoresheet twice in the previous 14 games, posting 6-10-16 totals during that span.

When asked what impresses him most about Suzuki’s game, Slafkovsky said: “I feel like he never gets tired and he always makes the right decision on the ice. He knows what to do with the puck every time on entries and breakouts and everything. Just super easy to play with a guy like that. You know even if you give him a hard puck he’ll still do something with it.”

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Caufield said there’s a predictability to Suzuki’s game, which makes him easy to play with.

“He’s got flashes of skill every time he’s got the puck, but you just kind of know that he’s going to win a battle, he’s going to get a puck back,” Caufield said. “He’s going to do all these things so you can kind of play your game based off that. He’s the guy who we lean on in all situations. He takes pride in that and he takes it to heart. He’s our backbone and a really special player.”

Slafkovsky said Suzuki isn’t a big talker, instead leading more by example.

“Of course we discuss stuff, but nothing special on the bench,” Slafkovsky said. “It’s more off the ice. The way he leads on the ice, he plays important minutes, he plays on the power play. He shows up every night. Since I’ve been here, I don’t think he’s missed a game.”

When told Suzuki has never missed a game during his five seasons in the NHL — a streak that reached 329 games against the Sabres — Slafkovsky said: “Oh, really? That’s pretty special. That’s what makes him captain. You look up to guys like that who are ready at 7 p.m. every night to play hockey. It’s really special.”

The Canadiens’ No. 1 line is looking like it could also become something special.

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