While wins have been scarce lately, Montreal captain sees his team’s improvement, both individually and collectively.
Article content
There are 24 games left in this Canadiens season rapidly falling into the abyss, but captain Nick Suzuki denied motivation will become a problem as the team seemingly plays out the string.
“We want to win as many games as possible,” Suzuki said after Monday morning’s practice at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. “We’ve had that mindset all year and I don’t think we want to change that.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Article content
“There’s a lot of motivating factors in this league,” he added. “Guys are playing for future contracts, future opportunities. It’s a business and this is the best league in the world. There’s always things to play for. We’re playing for each other. We’re a tight group in here. We all want to succeed.”
If it’s not bad enough that Montreal’s on a season-high five-game losing streak heading into Tuesday night’s encounter against Arizona at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 98.5 FM), the Canadiens have dropped into last place in the Atlantic Division, are 27th overall in the NHL, and are actually two points behind last season’s pace, when they weren’t considered particularly competent.
The Canadiens were 25-29-4 after 58 games a year ago. Montreal’s record is 22-28-8 heading into Tuesday’s encounter. This has been magnified by a minus-46 goal-differential, the worst in the Eastern Conference, exceeded only by San Jose (minus-97), Chicago (minus-85) and Anaheim (minus-56).
Samuel Montembeault will be the starting goaltender against the Coyotes, who are on a 12-game losing streak (0-10-2). Arizona hasn’t won a game since Jan. 22, against Pittsburgh.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
The Canadiens, arguably, have deserved a better fate of late. They have scored the opening goal in each of their last three games, against Buffalo, Pittsburgh and New Jersey.
“In terms of on-ice performance, it’s the best sequence of five or six games we’ve played,” head coach Martin St. Louis said. “But that doesn’t guarantee a victory.”
Nonetheless, Suzuki believes some key components are in place on this rebuilding team, one that can only improve as it becomes more experienced to different game scenarios.
“There has been a lot of building opportunities,” he said. “Individually, a lot of guys have gotten better. And collectively, we’ve gotten better. We want to keep building and keep learning and grow as a group.
“It’s obviously frustrating with the results we’ve been getting. We talked about it a bit today; the scoring chances that we’re generating. We’re just not getting the results at the end of the game that we want. Little things have been hurting us.”
Nobody can question Suzuki’s work ethic or desire. He has appeared in every game this season — along with Mike Matheson, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Jake Evans — and leads the team in scoring, with 22 goals and 55 points. Suzuki scored twice in Saturday afternoon’s 4-3 loss at New Jersey.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“I want to lead by example, in practises and games,” Suzuki said. “Set the tempo.”
But he also realizes the expectations will increase next season. Not only must the Canadiens challenge for a playoff spot at some point, they must display visible signs of improvement under St. Louis, who will be entering his third full season behind the bench. The team went 14-19-4 after he replaced Dominique Ducharme and was 31-45-6 last season. Overall, St. Louis’s record is 67-92-18.
“I think we’ve taken really good strides,” Suzuki said. “We’ve lost big pieces (players) back-to-back years. We’ve got to be patient (but) our time will come. For sure it’s tough to be patient. We want to be at the top of the standings, in the playoffs, be in the Stanley Cup final. The hunger for our team is there. Sometimes the patience is thin, but I think we’ve done a pretty good job.
“The losses definitely weigh on you. Everything’s better when we’re winning. I’ve felt really good about our game over the last few weeks. We haven’t been able to win as many as we want and it has been frustrating a bit. I’m excited for what we have … and what we can do in the future.”
Evans (therapy day) missed his second consecutive practice. Defenceman Jayden Struble, who tweaked his back last Thursday in Pittsburgh, returned to practice. The status of both players will be decided on Tuesday.
Recommended from Editorial
-
Jack Todd: Atlantic Division will be a tough hurdle to climb for the Canadiens
-
Stu Cowan: Canadiens and fans have some fun at Skills Competition
-
Hidden Game: Canadiens fail to protect leads in N.J., losing fifth straight game
Advertisement 5
Article content
Article content