He hasn't really been playing at that pace this year, that migth be why. When he skates, he's putting like 30-40% into each stride, and when he's in the D zone, sometimes even less.
His comfort zone is to slow the pace down, like Forsberg, or other playmakers, because he's a distributor (even though he also likes to be a shooter). He's trying to draw the opposition closer to him, then hit his teammates with a pass to catch them flat footed, and give them more time and space.
Not too dissimilar to Toews actually. As opposed to how Cale or Girard play trying to use their speed to out pace the opposition.
He almost always starts new situations, playing an overly safe game too. He starts every season like this and he starts tournaments like this. He's alluded to it before as well, saying the defensive reads are the last thing for him to come back after a layoff.
It's actually dragged on longer than normal this year, and he's been playing at a slower pace than usual, because he had a slow start, and he's probably worried about making mistakes. It's the same motivation.
He also tends to favor the outlet pass much more than rushing the puck, even though he's good at rushing the puck. But in the games where they're down a couple or few goals, and he's trying to push the play, he plays at a noticeably faster pace, and rushes the puck more often. It's entirely different.
I just wish he would play like that all the time, instead of just when they're trying to come back, because it can be so effective. The way he played trying to win gold at the WJC was phenomenal, and it was because he played on his toes, at a high place the whole game.
