Suzuki welcomes next challenge as Canadiens captain to rally against Capitals in East 1st Round

MONTREAL -- Nick Suzuki's voice carries as much weight as his play for the Montreal Canadiens.

"When we've needed him, he's there," Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. "As he goes, we go."

Case in point: Back in February, with Montreal having lost eight of nine games (1-7-1) going into the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, it was Suzuki, its 25-year-old captain, who convinced general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton to believe in the team, to wait to act before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.

"It's not fun conversations to have, especially in the position Kent was in before 4 Nations and leading up and thinking about the Deadline," Suzuki told NHL.com. "I just wanted to show my belief in what we have and the team.

"He listened and said we had to go earn it. I think we did that. He was able to keep us together for the stretch run."

Montreal went 15-5-6 after the break and qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Suzuki was fourth in the NHL and led the Canadiens with 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) from Feb. 22 through the end of the regular season.

"We all kind of knew what was going on, where we were in a tough spot where we weren't sure if we were going to move guys or not, and we thought we had what it took to keep moving forward," forward Alex Newhook said. "After hearing his impact on that, it's good to see the confidence he has in our group. It paid off."

Suzuki is the midst of his next greatest challenge as Canadiens captain. It's on him to lead them back from the brink of elimination in the Eastern Conference First Round.

Montreal trails the Washington Capitals 3-1 entering Game 5 of the best-of-7 series at Capital One Arena in Washington on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, ESPN, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS, CBC). Suzuki has two goals through the first four games.

"I just know I need to be at my best to help this team win," Suzuki said. "I need to do everything right, make big plays. I love those moments, and I want to be a player who is relied upon in those."

Suzuki was named Montreal's 31st and youngest captain Sept. 12, 2022. He was 23 years old and replacing Shea Weber, but the honor being bestowed on him didn't come as a surprise, especially to Weber.

"You could see it in him when he was young," Weber told NHL.com. "He had those qualities, and now time has really shown it."

Weber praised Suzuki's demeanor, the way he carries himself and takes care of himself. He credited his ability to see and think the game and ask questions when he needed answers.

"The IQ and confidence he had as a young kid, you just kind of knew," Weber said.

To make it work, though, Suzuki had to back up the 'C' on his jersey with his performance. He had to lead through his actions and production.

He's done that.

Suzuki had 61 points (21 goals, 40 assists) in 2021-22, the season before he was named captain. He went up to 66 points (26 goals, 40 assists) in 2022-23, then to 77 points (33 goals, 44 assists) last season and topping that with 89 points (30 goals, 59 assists) this season.

Best yet, he hasn't missed a game during his six-season NHL career.

"The best thing for me about Nick is that you can just see him getting better every day," Gorton said. "Since I've been here, it's been about 3 1/2 years, he's better every season, and not just marginally better. He's getting so much better in all areas of the game. You see it with the points, but now when we needed to get in and we needed to win all those games coming out of 4 Nations, he was a huge part of that. He was one of the best players in the League and he was carrying us that way.

"But now you've seen the growth off the ice. You can see it with his relationship with his teammates. You see him speaking out more and doing all those kinds of things. It's very hard in this league to get better every year, and he's doing it in an environment that it's pressure packed, as you can see."

The pressure is certainly on now. The Canadiens are in must-win mode. It's Suzuki's next greatest challenge as the one wearing the 'C' for hockey's most storied franchise.

He is supposed to lead, to perform, to deliver in the clutch. He's done it already this season. The Canadiens have, as Gallagher said, "an insane amount of confidence" that he'll do it again.

"You look to your leaders a lot of the time in certain situations throughout the season and in big moments like this in the postseason as well, but I think he takes it upon himself to come through in those moments," Newhook said. "We have confidence in everyone to step up in those situations, but it seems to be him a lot of the time."

NHL.com independent correspondent Sean Farrell contributed to this report