Nick Suzuki looks tired (and it won’t get any better with the arrival of his baby and the Olympics)

Marc-Olivier Cook
Nick Suzuki looks tired (and it won’t get any better with the arrival of his baby and the Olympics)
Credit: Getty Images

Last night in Pittsburgh, the first line was virtually invisible.

Nick Suzuki didn't have a big one in him, and the same can be said for Cole Caufield and Zachary Bolduc. But let's focus on the captain here.

Suzuki's poor performance didn't stop Martin St-Louis from sending him to the shootout. But Suzuki missed (again): he hasn't scored on his last 15 attempts in such situations. It's not smart.

Suzuki is collecting points… but lately, he looks tired on the ice. It's like he's been bothered by something or just needs a break.

That can happen when you haven't missed a game since the start of your career. Suzuki has played 491 consecutive NHL games without missing a single one…

Anyway.

The captain is tired and it won't get any better with the arrival of his baby. It looks like I'm starting to want him to stay in Montreal and rest up for the next Olympics, even though I'd like him to have an experience like this…

The Canadiens need last season's Nick Suzuki to make the next NHL playoffs.

I'm not saying he's having an atrocious season… but you don't see the same Nick Suzuki every night, and that's an easy observation to make. He's no longer dominating games on a regular basis (as he did last year), and perhaps fatigue is one of the reasons for this.

Let's not forget that he hurt his foot blocking a pitch in the last few weeks. I wonder if that's still affecting him…

All this to say that the next few months won't be easy for Nick Suzuki, especially with the Olympics coming up. We know he's got a great chance of making Team Canada, after all. But…

If that happens, he'll have to find a way to manage his energy between now and the end of the calendar. Because, at the risk of repeating myself… the Canadiens really need him.


Overtime

– Bravo!

– Yes.

– Nice.

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