After a deserved day off, the Montreal Canadiens were back on the ice this morning in Brossard, but one player was missing: captain Nick Suzuki, who was having treatment. This is the second practice the top-line center has missed recently, and it’s not surprising. Since he blocked a shot in the dying seconds of the game against the Philadelphia Flyers, he hasn’t had the same spring in his step, so to speak.
Since he started skating in the NHL, Suzuki has not missed a single game, a 470-game streak in a tough league. Hockey players being what they are, it’s evident that there have been times when the captain has played through bumps and bruises and perhaps even a little bit more than that, as evidenced by the fact he turned down Team Canada’s invitation to play in the World Championships a couple of times in the past.
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There’s no denying that Suzuki is the motor of the team, and any length of absence from him would be a disaster for Martin St-Louis’ team. As things stand, there are no indications that he could miss Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Speaking to the media after practice, Zachary Bolduc said the Habs needed to work on their shot volume, which makes sense. In their last three games, they could only manage 23, 19 and 20 shots. While that may suffice on some nights, it probably wouldn’t cut it against a red-hot goaltender, but Martin St-Louis isn’t worried about it. Asked how he plans for the moment his team won’t be able to keep up its 13% shooting rate, the bench boss explained that he doesn’t plan for the moment his team won’t score as many goals, and nobody can blame him for that.
As for defenseman Mike Matheson, he was asked what explains the fact that, last season at this stage, the Canadiens were dead last in the standings, and that they are now at the top of the division and flirting with the league lead. The veteran explained that it was all a matter of consistency. The Habs are definitely doing things better than they did last year, and they are doing so consistently. It makes sense, especially since St-Louis has been telling us for years that consistency is what’s harder to get from young players.
For me, the best example of the Habs doing it the right way is how the five-man unit is committed to playing the defensive side of the game. On Saturday night against the Utah Mammoth, it was Kirby Dach’s active stick on defence that allowed him to take flight and score the Tricolore’s sixth goal of the season. As for Juraj Slafkovsky, he’s now playing a more physical game on the forecheck, and he’s doing it every game. In 15 games, he has 27 hits and battles a lot more by the boards, even when he doesn’t come throwing his body around.
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