Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki scored his 100th and 101st points of the season, as the Habs defeated the host New York Islanders 4-1 on Sunday. With the loss, the Islanders were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Meanwhile Suzuki, who opened the scoring in the second and assisted on Ivan Demidov’s game-winning goal soon thereafter, became the fifth Hab to hit the century mark and the first since Mats Naslund in 1985-86. Suzuki tapped in a Juraj Slafkovsky pass into a crowded crease to beat goalie Ilya Sorokin for the historic point.
On the play Cole Caufield got high-sticked by rookie-defenseman Matthew Schaefer, resulting in a two-minute penalty (with Suzuki’s marker negating the first of the double minors). Twenty-eight seconds of gameplay later, Suzuki found Ivan Demidov at the side of Sorokin’s crease for the rookie scoring leader’s 19th of the season.
Canadiens Fall Short of Record
Another 27seconds after that, Alex Newhook scored on an odd-man rush to put the Canadiens up 3-0 and the game fairly out of reach. Casey Cizikas deflected in one midway through the third, but Zachary Bolduc got that one back late to seal the Islanders’ fate. Of note, the fastest three goals in Canadiens history came on Feb. 27, 1955, in a 7-1 win over the New York Rangers, with Dickie Moore, Jack LeClair and Emile Bouchard scoring within 31 seconds of one another.
On Newhook’s goal, rookie-defenseman David Reinbacher, who was just called up from the American Hockey League in response to Noah Dobson’s injury, notched his first career point, with a secondary assist. Defenseman Lane Hutson meanwhile earned secondary assists on the Suzuki and Demidov goals, bringing his season total to 66, which ties Larry Robinson’s 1976-77 team record for most assists by a defenseman in a single season.
Related: Canadiens’ Lane Hutson Is Changing How NHL Defenders Read the Game
Hutson gets a chance to set a new franchise record on Tuesday, when the Canadiens visit the Philadelphia Flyers, who currently hold down the third playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. Only the Washington Capitals (93 points) and Columbus Blue Jackets (92) remain alive in pursuit of them for the final berth. They each have 81 games played to the Flyers’ (94) 80, though. Before facing the Habs on Tuesday, the Flyers host the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. The Islanders close their season on Tuesday at home against the Canes.
Canadiens Still Have a Lot to Play for in Game 82
All this comes after Canadiens forward Cole Caufield scored his 50th goal of the season last Thursday, becoming the first player in 36 years to accomplish the feat (Stephane Richer). Caufield scored his 51st on Saturday against the Blue Jackets, passing the 50 Maurice Richard (1944-45) and Bernie Geoffrion (1960-61) scored and pulling even with the 51 Richer notched in 1989-90. Only Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt have scored more in single seasons than Caufield (and Richer) at this point, with one game left to play for the former.
With the win, the Canadiens tied the Atlantic Division-leading Buffalo Sabres with 106 points. They have two games remaining though (at the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday and at home against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday). For the Habs to win the division title, they need to finish with at least one more point in the standings, as the Sabres hold the tie-breaker, with 41 regulation wins to the Canadiens’ 34.
