Canadiens focused on ‘collective game’ without Suzuki for Heritage Classic

WINNIPEG -- The Montreal Canadiens are looking forward to heading outdoors to play the Winnipeg Jets in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX), though they wish Nick Suzuki was with them.

The Canadiens captain won’t be on the ice because of an upper-body injury he sustained in a 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Suzuki, who is missing only his second game since entering the NHL in 2019-20, is expected to be out 2-4 weeks.

“When you lose your captain and your leader, you can’t replace him, obviously,” Canadiens forward Josh Anderson said Saturday. “I think collectively, it’s next-man-up, that’s our mindset. I thought the last game we started a little slow, but then eventually in the second and third period, we started playing as a team and we played pretty good.

“That’s our mentality right now, playing as a team and playing our collective game and we should be fine.”

Montreal won 4-1 at the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday in its first game without Suzuki. The 27-year-old had his ironman streak snapped at 546 games from the start of his career. He leads the Canadiens in scoring with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in nine games this season.

Heading into the Heritage Classic against the Jets, the Canadiens (5-3-2) are trying to win two consecutive games for the second time this season.

“We just have to stick to our game and play hard and play the same way we would as if he would be there,” Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky said. “We have to keep making plays and playing the same way we would if he would be there, so when he comes back, he feels like he never left and he was there the whole time.”

Forward Oliver Kapanen is again expected to move into the role of top line center between Slafkovsky and left wing Cole Caufield against Winnipeg.

Kapanen missed the first seven games of the season because of a lower-body injury and is still looking for his first point going into his fourth game.

“Of course we have to adapt a little bit,” Kapanen said. “I played with ‘Slav’ last year and I never played with Cole before. Of course, there are some new things, but I’m just going to try and play my game and be good at both ends and do the best I can.”

Kapanen had 37 points (22 goals, 15 assists) in 82 games for Montreal last season. The 23-year-old was selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 64) of the 2021 NHL Draft.

“He’s been great; you can place him anywhere throughout the lineup,” Caufield said. “I thought he did a good job last game. I thought we were able to create some chances. When you put a new guy on a line like that, it might take a little bit of time, but I thought we played pretty well.”

Montreal was able to hold the lead against Chicago, which is something it has struggled doing early this season.

The Canadiens are 1-2-1 after scoring first this season. They gave up the first goal against Chicago before scoring three straight and sealing the victory with an empty-net goal.

“I think we all knew that we played pretty good as a team, we played as a collective, team-wise,” Kapanen said. “We have lost games in one period and haven’t finished games like we wanted, but all knew we have it in the locker room and we have to trust the game and the results are going to be there for sure.”

Without Suzuki, the Canadiens are looking for offense from other sources.

Montreal is also without forward Ivan Demidov, who is out with a lower-body injury and has not played since a 6-5 overtime loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 3.

Forward Jake Evans picked up the slack in Chicago, with two goals and an assist for his first three points of the season. It’s given him some confidence going into the Heritage Classic.

“Personally, I feel better, it’s nice to produce a little bit offensively,” Evans said. “It’s not usually what I’m expected of, but with Nick being out, everyone needs to add a little bit more. It’s nice to chip in.”

Montreal will need another solid team effort against Winnipeg in the Winter Classic. The two teams took to the ice for the first time Saturday for a practice and then a family skate.

“We want to win every game, that’s obviously the goal every time,” Slafkovsky said. “But I feel like if you win games like this, it’s a little bit more fun. It’s something special that you don’t get to do every year.”