In recent weeks, much has been made of Keith Yandle and Phil Kessel who have surpassed the record of consecutive games (964) held by Doug Jarvis since 1987. At the Canadiens, the iron man is named Nick Suzuki .
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The 23-year-old forward’s counter currently shows 203 games. He still hasn’t missed a game since joining the NHL. Even COVID-19 hasn’t dampened its momentum.
Except that, recently, he has been absent from many training sessions. During the weekend, Martin St-Louis said that his most prolific scorer suffered from several “small sores” and that the absence from training was mainly used to take care of himself and manage all that. A strategy corroborated, Monday, by the main interested party.
“My goal is to play every game. I don’t want to miss it, especially at this point in the season,” Suzuki said. I feel like I don’t have to train if I don’t feel the need. A lot of times I get treatments in the morning and then head to the gym to work on some things so I’m ready for games. »
On Monday, however, he was on the ice at the Brossard sports complex training with his teammates. Ryan Poehling even reserved a rigorous check for him which did not seem to please him.
“It was good to be in practice this morning with the guys. It was the first time in a while,” he added.
In addition to never having missed an NHL game, Suzuki confirmed that he never missed one during his junior training, at least due to injury.
play with pain
To play all the matches of an 82 calendar, with all that that implies, is not an easy task. During his long career, Martin St-Louis enjoyed a five-season streak during which he never missed a game.
“It’s difficult to play every game. If you want to do it, you have to be ready to want to play without being 100% all the time,” the Canadiens coach first said.
“You have to be able to play despite the minor sores. There is a big difference between being hurt and being in pain. When you’re injured, you usually don’t play. When you’re just in pain, you play,” he continued.
St-Louis also pointed out that other factors must also be taken into consideration.
“How serious is the injury? Can the player make it worse? If it’s November, and he has to miss training, maybe it’s better to give him a break to avoid dragging it all year. »
Byron in bad shape
Moreover, one wonders if the career of Paul Byron is not coming to an end. To hear about St-Louis, the Ontarian is in rather bad shape even though he participated in the team’s training.
“There’s not a game where Pauly doesn’t work hard or look quick. I don’t know what the next season has in store for him. With what affects him, I don’t know how he feels getting out of bed every morning. On the other hand, what I do know is that when we are lucky enough to have him in training, he gives his 110%, even if he feels at 60%. »
Recall that Byron underwent hip surgery last July. A surgery that made him miss 43 games. The 32-year-old has another valid season left on his contract.
In the middle of the afternoon, the NHL announced that it had suspended Michael Pezzetta for two games because of the blow to the head he struck TJ Oshie on Saturday night.