First, he picks up the puck in the offensive zone, quickly creating time and space for his teammates as he softly returns the puck to the blue line.
At this point, he shifts back into creativity mode, finding his usual spot on the half boards. That's where things get interesting.
We all know goaltenders will save the majority of the shots they can see, and even a fair amount of shots they don't see, but there's one particular way to make the save much more difficult: pre-shot adjustments.
And Suzuki performs this minor, yet crucial move perfectly. Take a look at his body language prior to the pass. He sells the shot to perfection, but he's quite aware there's simply no passing lane available. By curling the puck, he gives the signal to Andersen that the shot is on its way, which freezes the Leafs goaltender as he gets set for the shot.
He then opens up his hands, which opens up the passing lane, and uses his elite playmaking to thread the needle to a wide-open Tomas Tatar, who makes no mistake.
A moving goaltender is a vulnerable goaltender. And a vulnerable goalie is exactly what Suzuki was waiting for.
A stick tap goes out to Gallagher, who was busy doing ''Gallagher things'' in the crease, creating havoc in the process.
