The Montreal Canadiens managed another close game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, but still dropped their fifth-straight regulation contest. While very good for the tank, you can see the frustration setting in a little with the players with three of the five losses being games they very well could have won. But therein lies a silver lining; they played well enough to beat a Devils team that is still in the playoff hunt, and that may be worth more than a win during a rebuild year.
And after a two-game pointless streak, Habs captain Nick Suzuki came roaring back to the score sheet with a pair of goals.
This first one was a real shooter’s shot. He sells Nico Daws on a far-side shot by essentially staring down the far post long enough to convince him it’s going there. With that trap set, he unleashes a laser beam to the short side, sneaking it right under the glove of Daws.
Suzuki has an underrated shot, in part because he’s highly regarded as a playmaker, it’s easy to forget he’s not that far off from Cole Caufield in terms of shooting ability. He seems to have decided to show that off this season, as he’s on pace to shoot the puck more than he ever has, and to cross the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. His bread and butter is still on the playmaking side, but his overall production has him within striking distance of a point-per-game season that the Canadiens haven’t seen in some time.
He sits just three points back of that mark right now, so it may take another 10-game point streak, and definitely a few multi-point nights in order to make it happen. But even if he doesn’t, the fact he’s likely to set yet another career high on a rebuilding team is a testament to how Suzuki continues to improve.
It would have been reasonable to see some regression in his scoring through the three years of rebuild that he’s been leading the team. That hasn’t happened, as he’s scored 61 points, 66 points, and now sits on pace to at least cross the 70-point mark for the first time of his career. These aren’t superstar numbers, but the fact that he’s been able to achieve them while largely performing on a one-line team is something worth celebrating.
The team is getting closer to having better lines that will come after his, and he just might be regularly crossing that point-per-game mark as early as next season.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. Next up will be the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, after which the Habs will take off for a four-game road trip.
