Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is brimming with confidence these days, and it’s starting to rub off on his teammates.
Suzuki rocked the Habs with playing partners Kirby Dach and Cole Caufield last month. He was also rewarded Friday, when the Canadian announced that he was the recipient of the Molson Cup for the month of November.
The captain of the CH thus got his hands on a second Molson Cup in as many months, after being named co-recipient in October with Caufield.
In the locker room after the training session at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, the main interested party seemed surprised to be the one who will be honored before Saturday’s meeting at the Bell Center against the Los Angeles Kings.
“I won it? OK so much the better. I won’t have to share it with Cole this time around,” he deadpans.
In 13 games in November, the 23-year-old center led the team with eight goals and added six assists, totaling 14 points. Suzuki, who edged out Dach in the ballot, notably had a three-game point streak (November 1-5), during which he amassed five points.
Asked what explained his success since the start of the season, the 23-year-old hockey player offered a very simple answer.
“I think I’m comfortable with my game; I have learned a lot in recent years. It’s been going pretty well so far this season, I’m trying to be as consistent as possible and help the team win,” he said of his recent performances.
Suzuki has made no secret that he appreciates the opportunity to play with attacking players such as Caufield and Dach. He even ventured to make a rather audacious prediction about number 22 of the Bleu-blanc-rouge.
“Colle? He can score 50, that’s for sure, Suzuki said without hesitation. I will do everything to make it happen this season, and then we will see. »
According to head coach Martin St-Louis, this statement speaks to Suzuki’s level of confidence, both in his abilities and in those of his teammates. St-Louis was also full of praise for his young captain.
“’Suzi’ is a player who loves having the platform to make a difference. And that’s rare for it to happen at such a young age. Sometimes guys are afraid to fail, instead of starving for success. ‘Suzi’ is a guy who is hungry for success,” said the former Tampa Bay Lightning star player.
Suzuki’s other playing partner, Dach, is no slouch either, finishing second in last month’s Molson Cup voting. The ex-Blackhawks player obviously gained confidence being placed on the wing rather than in the center, as was the case in Chicago.
“We clicked quickly together, Nick and I. Obviously, we are not scoring as regularly as at the start of the season, but we are still generating a lot of scoring chances,” admitted Dach.
“I had a good start to the season, and now I’m taking advantage of this momentum to take off. I take advantage of it as much as possible right now, ”he added.
Dach could be called upon to play a bigger role over the next few days, especially if Sean Monahan’s absence is set to be prolonged. The CH has also indicated that Monahan, who has not played since December 5 against the Vancouver Canucks, “remains under medical evaluation”, in a tweet published at the end of the morning.
And if that scenario plays out, then St. Louis will be faced with a big dilemma: dismantle their front line to allow Dach to pivot Monahan’s, or keep the status quo and find another alternative.
“Of course we think about it. We know that he (Dach) can play in the center … We have options and we will have to assess that”, however limited himself to saying St-Louis.
Drouin and Hoffman close in on return to play
In addition, forwards Jonathan Drouin and Mike Hoffman are getting closer to a return to play with the Canadiens.
They wore regular jerseys at practice, meaning they got the go-ahead from doctors to take hits.
“They will be evaluated tomorrow after morning training to determine if they can play” against the Kings, said the Canadian through his Twitter account.
Drouin and Hoffman haven’t played since Nov. 12 against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nov. 19 against the Philadelphia Flyers, respectively.
Drouin was battling an upper body injury sustained Nov. 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Canadian then indicated on November 15 that he would miss a period ranging from four to six weeks.
In the case of Hoffman, the Habs were content to say that he is injured in the lower body.
Drouin has been limited to four assists in 12 games this season. For his part, Hoffman had five goals and three assists in 16 games.
On the other hand, defender Mike Matheson, who had left the previous day’s training session about 30 minutes after its start, was conspicuous by his absence. “He received a day of treatment,” said the Canadian.
This was also the case for forwards Brendan Gallagher, whose status remains unchanged. For his part, David Savard has been absent since the December 3 game against the Edmonton Oilers, “remains under medical evaluation”.