Robert Thomas (Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/22e6ed72-e237-4a41-b6df-df1ec054099f.jpeg] Robert Thomas (Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images) The St. Louis Blues and Montreal Canadiens face off Tuesday with two of the NHL’s most valuable players since the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] center Robert Thomas and Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] center Nick Suzuki are largely responsible for their teams' rise in the standings to a wild-card spot in the past month. Both players are among the NHL’s top 10 scorers since the 4 Nations tournament [https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-players-with-rising-and-falling-stock-after-4-nations-face-off], but their contributions, in particular, have led to some massive results. Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy also had Nick Suzuki and Robert Thomas as MVPs after the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] occupy the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference [https://thehockeynews.com/betting/futures/why-the-st-louis-blues-will-prevail-in-tight-wild-card-race-over-flames-canucks-utah-hc] with a three-point lead on the Vancouver Canucks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks]. St. Louis was eight points behind Vancouver [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/how-blues-and-utah-climbed-into-nhls-western-playoff-race-and-how-canucks-and-flames-let-them] during the 4 Nations Face-Off. While it’s unfair to the team to say only Thomas carried them to where they are today, he has done much of the heavy lifting. Since Feb. 20, Thomas posted 14 assists and 19 points in 16 games. He got at least one point in 13 of those games, and he posted two or more points in four of them. The 25-year-old now has 42 assists and 60 points in 60 games this season. A Blues team that’s 16th in the league in goals-for per game (2.97) would be well out of a playoff spot were it not for Thomas’ contributions on offense. His point-per-game average is well above any other Blues player, considering he missed some time due to an injury this season. While he’s still somewhat of a hidden gem outside of St. Louis, Thomas is doing everything asked of him. He’s a high-value performer at an average salary of $8.125 million [https://puckpedia.com/player/robert-thomas] per season. Nick Suzuki (David Kirouac-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/28f56c32-683b-495e-bb9d-9bee89e7c34d.jpeg] Nick Suzuki (David Kirouac-Imagn Images) In the Eastern Conference, the eighth-place Canadiens [http://thn.com/montreal] also are getting terrific contributions from captain Suzuki. Since Feb. 20, he has six goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 13 games. The 25-year-old has also put up at least one point in 10 of those games, and six of them are multi-point nights. The Habs are 13th in goals-for per game, so Suzuki’s point production is necessary to where they are today. And his salary of $7.875 million [https://puckpedia.com/player/nick-suzuki] also makes him a great bang-for-his-bucks type of player. The Blues and the Canadiens aren’t anywhere close to locking up a playoff spot. That means they’re almost certainly going to need more out of Thomas and Suzuki. But the good news for Montreal and St. Louis fans is that both players are ready, willing and able to drive offensive production and take the heat off the rest of the lineup. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
