Nick Suzuki just fired some serious shots at the Tampa Bay Lightning

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Jonathan Ouimet
May 2, 2026  (10:36 PM)

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Photo credit: X @HabsOnReddit

Nick Suzuki walked off the ice Friday night with a tied series and a calm message for his locker room.

The Canadiens captain pointed straight at Andrei Vasilevskiy as the reason Tampa Bay forced a Game 7 in this first-round series.

That's a captain doing captain things. He absorbed the OT loss, gave the goalie his due, and put the room back together with a single line.

Tampa needed every save they could get. Vasilevskiy carried a .910 save percentage across 58 regular-season starts, and his playoff numbers had been pedestrian until Game 6.

Through the first 5 games of this series, his playoff line read 1 win and a .880 save percentage.

Cooper was getting outplayed at his most expensive position. Game 6 changed the conversation.

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Suzuki put up 29 goals and 72 assists for 101 points and a +37 rating in the regular season. He was a top-five Selke conversation. He was the engine of the room.

Through 5 playoff games, the 26-year-old has 0 goals, 5 assists, and a -5 rating.

That's a captain leading the team in points without a single goal to show for it.

Cole Caufield is the obvious finisher next to him, but Caufield needs setups and screens to get to his spots. The line generates chances. The line doesn't bury them.

Martin St-Louis has watched Vasilevskiy steal one in Game 6. He has watched the same line carry the chances and miss the net.

The math has to flip in Game 7 or the series ends at the worst possible moment.

Montreal finished 48-24-10 for 106 points, sixth overall. Tampa came in at 50-26-6 for the same point total.

Two heavyweights, separated by nothing, and now one game decides everything.

Here's the part that should give Habs fans a lift. Suzuki didn't dodge the question.

He didn't manufacture a quote. He named the actual problem and then told his teammates to stay positive about everything else.

That's not an empty pep talk. That's a captain telling 22 teammates the answer is the same answer that worked all year, and asking them to trust it for one more 60-minute window.

Game 7 arrives with Vasilevskiy back on his game and a Habs captain looking for his first goal of the spring. Whoever blinks first heads home for the summer.

Previously

Kris Letang's massive request to the Penguins is turning heads in Pittsburgh

Oilers dealt tough blow with Stan Bowman heavily involved

Brandon Hagel offers candid comments on a player in Montreal

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1 HOUR AGO   |   37 ANSWERS Nick Suzuki just fired some serious shots at the Tampa Bay Lightning Will Andrei Vasilevskiy steal Game 7 and end the Canadiens season ?

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