While Lane Hutson is chasing history and Cole Caufield is on his way to scoring milestones, Nick Suzuki just keeps on going without getting much attention, but he could reach the 100-point magic number this season.
While there’s been plenty of talk about whether or not Montreal Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield will reach 40 goals or even 50, there hasn’t been much noise about captain Nick Suzuki. While fans and media alike are focusing on rookie Ivan Demidov, the awakening of Juraj Slafkovsky, or Caufield’s goal scoring, the centerman has 74 points in 62 games so far this season. That gives him the 10th place in the scoring race and the sixth place amongst centers.
If he keeps up the pace he’s on right now and stays healthy (touch wood), he would end the year with 98 points. Nobody wearing the Sainte-Flanelle has reached that number in exactly 40 years. The last time a Canadiens player scored 98 points or more was back in 1985-86 when Mats Naslund racked up 110 points. Vincent Damphousse came close with 97 points in 1992-93, and Pierre Turgeon was also nearly there in 1995-96 with 96 points, but they didn’t get there.
That would be quite a feat for Suzuki, but could he even make it to 100 points? That’s not outside of the realm of possibility. This Canadiens team is all about the offence, and they have no choice given the kind of goaltending they have gotten this season. In those high-scoring games, as we saw in the recent road trip, the captain is always leading the charge. In those last three games, he racked up six points and nine points in his last five games.
Multipoint games are becoming almost routine for the 26-year-old. With 20 games remaining to play, he sits 26 points away from the 100-point mark. Knowing how well he played last season down the stretch when the stakes were higher, I certainly wouldn’t bet against the possibility.
Interestingly, not more has been made of the pace the captain is on this season. It’s almost as if it’s routine now; everyone has come to expect excellence from Suzuki and is just taking it for granted.
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