It’s been a long time since the Montreal Canadiens have had a dominant point producer.
In fact, the last Canadiens player to surpass the 80-point marker was Russian forward Alex Kovalev, who netted 84 in the 2007-08 season. But given the recent tear captain Nick Suzuki has been on, Habs fans could soon see that 16-year slump come to an end.
With his 11th goal of the month, Suzuki became the first Habs player to record more than 10 goals in a calendar month since forward Brian Savage scored 11 in October 1995. He also had more goals in February than any NHL player not named Auston Matthews (13).
Sitting at the top of Montreal’s leaderboard, Suzuki now has 24 goals and 59 points over 60 games this year, averaging about a point per night.
Given he plays every game remaining on the schedule, the 24-year-old is on pace to finish the current campaign with a career-best 33 goals and 48 assists, a total of 81 points.
That would be a massive step forward from his previous two seasons, which saw him net 61 and 66 points, respectively.
And it’s not just fans who are happy with the young captain’s production. Montreal’s coaching staff has also taken notice.
“With his age and how big of a jump I feel he’s taken in his last 100 games, you leave yourself wondering if he still just scratching the surface,” head coach Martin St. Louis said of Suzuki, who logged three points in Thursday’s shootout loss to the Florida Panthers. “Is there more? Because he’s still a pretty young player, so it’s fun to watch…”
As for Suzuki, he’s just happy to keep the streak going as long as he can.
“Feeling confident out there… It’s been a good month. Just want to keep that going.”
He’ll get another chance to light the lamp when the Canadiens take on the Tampa Bay Lightning this Saturday at 7 pm ET.
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