Nick Suzuki told reporters Wednesday that Montreal’s top line must be more productive at five-on-five if the Canadiens are going to keep moving forward, a blunt assessment delivered as the team prepares to face the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Five-on-five, definitely got to try to find a way to produce more if we're going to keep moving forward,” Suzuki said, adding that the shortfall isn’t a single failing. “It's not one big thing that's missing. It's just little plays here and there. I think all three of us can do a better job.”
The numbers underline Suzuki’s point. Through 14 playoff games the trio of Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky had been outscored 10-3 at five-on-five. Caufield and Slafkovsky each recorded one even-strength point in those 14 games; Suzuki had five. Over the regular season the Canadiens were tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for sixth in the NHL with 184 five-on-five goals, but that production has not followed into the postseason.
Those playoff minutes tell a sharper story. According to Natural Stat Trick, Montreal’s top line had skated a little over 95 minutes together at five-on-five in the playoffs and had been outscored 6-0 in that span, producing just under 50 percent of expected goals and about half of the high-danger chances.
Context makes the stakes clearer. Montreal’s top line was one of the best forward trios in the regular season; the Canadiens’ five-on-five scoring ranked among the league’s best. The Hurricanes have gone a perfect 8-0 through the first two rounds of the postseason, and Montreal was set to take them on after Suzuki’s remarks. Meanwhile, the Canadiens’ power play has been a consistent strength—a contrast to the top line’s five-on-five struggles.
The friction point is visible in game-level detail. In Game 4 against Buffalo, Suzuki skated with Josh Norris at five-on-five for 6:12 and that stretch produced 11 shot attempts for Montreal and none against, with Suzuki’s line credited with 100 percent of the expected goals while matched against Norris. For the game overall the Canadiens had a 16-3 edge in five-on-five attempts, a 9-3 edge in unblocked attempts, a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal and a 3-1 edge in high-danger chances; Montreal controlled 62.03 percent of expected goals at five-on-five in 9:16 of ice time. The same Game 4 also featured seven power-play opportunities for Montreal, an area Suzuki referenced when he said, “I don't know how much time we had, we probably had a lot more time in-zone on the PP, but I felt like we were kind of dying with plays off the rush or turning it over. We’ve got to find a way to produce, so I think it’s on all of us to be a little bit better.”
Cole Caufield pushed back on the notion that the team surrendered control, saying, “I’ll watch the game back, but I think at five-on-five we started to take over in the second and third there. We obviously had our chances on the (power play). Hockey is a weird sport that way, where one bad bounce changes the outcome. We’ve got to swallow it and move on.” He added that the group had “tilted the ice a little bit” and needed only to finish on chances.
Suzuki framed the problem as collective and fixable. “Definitely exciting to for our group where we haven't been producing at where we usually are. Guys have stepped up and helped us out and we've got to return the favor and play a little better,” he said, and later, “I think all three of us can do a better job.”
His conclusion leaves no mystery about what matters next: Montreal’s ability to get its top line producing at five-on-five will be central when the Canadiens meet the Hurricanes. Suzuki put the responsibility squarely on himself and his linemates; if they can’t find the little plays he described, Montreal’s path through a Carolina team that has yet to lose will only get steeper.
