Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on how Laval has turned their season around. After a five-game road trip, the Montreal Canadiens returned to the Bell Centre for a five-game homestand that began on Thursday with a 4-1 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/game-day/third-straight-win-for-the-canadiens-recap-phi-mtl]. Nick Suzuki opened the scoring in the first period by completing a tic-tac-toe play started by Mike Matheson and Juraj Slafkovsky. The pass came to his skates and managed to put his stick on the puck before shooting it across the goal line. "I wasn't at a spot where I could shoot it and I saw him with one eye at the back post, so I might as well swing it there and I know he could put it in," said Slafkovsky describing the decision to pass the puck on the sequence. Slafkovsky trusted the captain to score because he's seen him do it 29 times leading up to Thursday night. The last time that Suzuki reached the milestone was in 2017-18 when he recorded 42 goals with the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL. "It doesn't really mean that much to me," said Suzuki speaking about the milestone. "I'm just trying to do as much as I can, whatever number that is, offensively, defensively. It's a nice number to say but we still have games to go and see what I can do." The 24-year-old's goal snapped the team's six-game power play drought that failed to convert in the last 17 opportunities. He's the first Canadien since Shea Weber in 2016-17 to hit 10 goals with the man advantage in a season. "He's had a good progression. He's still a young player. Sometimes you ask yourself if he still has another level. The level he's reached right now is fun to watch. I'm not surprised that he has 30 goals and he doesn't cheat," Martin St. Louis noted. Suzuki led the Canadiens forwards for ice time on Thursday and was on the second penalty kill unit in addition to the top power play unit. He obtained an assist on Jesse Ylonen's goal in the first period and named the second star. "He plays physical in the offensive zone. He protects the pucks a lot, creates a lot of space by playing physical. Defensively, he will play physical when it's needed. He doesn't run around looking to deliver hits. He's efficient in managing his energy. He doesn't waste energy for nothing," St. Louis added. With the assist on the power play goal, Slafkovsky extended his point streak to nine games. One of the factors to his offensive contribution is that his centre has been able to bury the puck. Suzuki has scored in five of the last seven contests. "I'm so happy for him and I'm happy to be part of it. Great to see his confidence. He's our best player. I love to see it," expressed the 19-year-old. Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue! [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk3MTk4Mzc0MTE4Nzc2/hockeynewsad.jpg] The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue!
