Nick Suzuki will be out 2-4 weeks for the Canadiens because of an upper-body injury, ending his ironman streak.
The injury means the Canadiens captain will miss the first game of his NHL career; he has played 546 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in the NHL behind Brent Burns (1,017). It is also the 20th longest streak in NHL history.
Suzuki has played every game since making his debut in the 2019-20 season. He was the 13th pick by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Draft but never played with them and was traded to the Canadiens in the deal involving Max Pacioretty on Sept. 10, 2018.
He played 21:03 and had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old forward has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in nine games this season and 488 points (172 goals, 316 assists) in the regular season. Suzuki has 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 56 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Suzuki had an NHL career-high 101 points last season (29 goals, 72 assists), was plus-37 and won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL.
Montreal visits the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday (8 p.m. ET; CHSN, NHLN, TSN2, RDS).
