Canadiens take 4-point lead in race for final playoff spot with comeback win

Daniel Rainbird · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 06, 2025 10:25 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Nick Suzuki is starring the complaint successful each kinds of situations for the Montreal Canadiens.

Montreal's skipper has galvanized his team's surge into the playoff representation with his violative accumulation since February.

And erstwhile the Canadiens needed him to measurement up connected the punishment termination Saturday, turns retired helium excels astatine that, too. Suzuki scored a short-handed extremity and added an assistance arsenic the Canadiens scored 3 third-period goals to bushed the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 astatine a rowdy Bell Centre.

"We haven't utilized him a ton due to the fact that we effort to prevention him a small bit, helium plays immoderate beauteous dense minutes," seasoned guardant Brendan Gallagher said.

"But erstwhile he's needed, he's 1 of the champion successful each azygous situation.

"We consciousness precise comfy with him connected the ice, and helium evidently tin marque thing hap astatine some ends."

The Canadiens, who clasp the last playoff spot successful the Eastern Conference, gave themselves a four-point cushion implicit the New York Rangers with six games remaining. 

WATCH | 6-year-old Habs instrumentality surviving the dream: 

The Rangers mislaid 4-0 to the big New Jersey Devils earlier connected Saturday.

Montreal recorded its ninth third-period comeback this season, which leads the league.

"Just 1 goal, we've travel backmost from worse," Suzuki said. "We got a assured group."

Suzuki has 31 points — 12 goals and 19 assists — successful his past 20 games to fertile 2nd successful NHL scoring since the 4 Nations Face-Off break. 

The Canadiens person gone 12-4-4 during that stretch.

The 25-year-old centre besides pushed his play full to 83 points, becoming Montreal's archetypal point-per-game subordinate since Alex Kovalev successful 2007-08.

On Saturday, helium filled successful connected the punishment termination for winger Josh Anderson, who missed the crippled for "personal reasons" aft telling reporters Thursday his woman was expecting their archetypal kid immoderate day.

The Canadiens trailed 1-0 successful the archetypal play erstwhile Suzuki helped thwart a four-minute Flyers powerfulness play — with Montreal generating much chances than Philadelphia — aft Alex Carrier drew humor with a precocious instrumentality connected Matvei Michkov.

When the Flyers went connected the antheral vantage again with 10:40 remaining successful the third, the skipper took matters into his hands again.

Suzuki chased down a puck successful Philadelphia's country aft Kaiden Guhle's clearance and cruised astir the nett earlier falling to 1 genu successful the slot.

That didn't halt him from picking the bottommost close country and beating Samuel Ersson disconnected the station and successful to springiness Montreal a two-goal lead.

"He's a canine connected a bony retired there," Lane Hutson said. "To spot him triumph that puck and volition it into a 3-1 game. It was awesome."

Suzuki has climbed from 61 points successful 2021-22, followed by 66 and 77 successful the pursuing 2 seasons without ever missing a game.

He inactive has six games to adhd to his career-high full this season, and nary Canadien has surpassed 90 points since Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon successful 1995-96.

"What's his ceiling?" caput manager Martin St. Louis said. "I privation him to dictate what that ceiling is going to be. It's amusive to beryllium portion of his travel and conscionable ticker him germinate arsenic a subordinate and instrumentality complaint and lead. It's been awesome this year."

Highlight Reel

Hutson fooled Ersson with a highlight-reel extremity disconnected an end-to-end unreserved 76 seconds aft Gallagher — with his 20th of the play — scored aboriginal successful the 3rd play to necktie the game. The 21-year-old defenceman, who leads each rookies successful scoring, floated a sharp-angle changeable into the apical close country aft his skate down the ice.

It wasn't instantly wide the changeable went successful the nett until the referee signalled a extremity and the assemblage erupted for the instrumentality favourite.

"I conscionable heard everyone," said Hutson. "I knew I had to effort to bushed him up implicit him, truthful I was benignant of waiting for him to drop, and helium did."

With 63 points, Hutson moved 1 down Chris Chelios for the astir points successful 1 play by a rookie defenceman successful Canadiens franchise history.

Baby connected the way

Anderson has played a cardinal relation for the Canadiens this season, filling retired the 3rd enactment of him, Gallagher and Christian Dvorak that has been important to Montreal's late-season surge.

St. Louis didn't cognize if Anderson would articulation the Canadiens for their crippled successful Nashville connected Sunday, but the caput manager liked however his squad responded without a large portion successful the lineup Saturday.

"I speech astir what's next, right? That was what's next," helium said. "We talked astir it, we're going to play hard for Andy, and we can't regenerate what Andy does conscionable with 1 guy. It's by
committee.

"Collectively, we did a beauteous bully occupation astatine that, but it's hard to regenerate his gait and his size, his presence."