Nick Suzuki backs Canadiens after Game 6 overtime loss

Nick Suzuki said the Montreal Canadiens were the better team for most of Game 6 after they lost 1-0 in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night. The series was tied at three games apiece and headed back to Tampa after Montreal failed to score through three periods.

Suzuki After Game 6

Asked what his message as captain was to his team, Suzuki chose confidence over regret. “I mean just stay positive. I think we're the better team for pretty much most of that game and just didn't score and [Andrei] Vasilevskiy kind of won them that game.”

That line put the focus on the one goaltender who changed the game for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy stood up through a scoreless first 60 minutes, then handled the late pressure that sent the game to overtime before the Lightning finished it.

Tampa Bay did not overwhelm Montreal in the shot count. The Lightning held a 33-30 edge, while the Canadiens won 51.1% of the faceoffs against Tampa Bay’s 48.9%. The margins were close enough that Suzuki’s postgame read matched the numbers more than the scoreline did.

Canadiens Top Line Struggles

The bigger problem for Montreal had been building before Game 6 ended. Cole Caufield, Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky had combined for only one point in 5v5 situations in the series against the Lightning, a thin return for three forwards the Canadiens lean on to drive offense.

Caufield is a 50+ goal scorer, Suzuki is a 100+ point producer and Slafkovsky is a 70+ point producer, but that production had not carried over in this matchup. Montreal still pushed the series to a deciding game, yet the top line’s five-on-five output left little room for error once the game went beyond regulation.

Game 7 In Tampa

The series now returns to Tampa with both teams locked at three games apiece, and Suzuki’s comments add a sharper edge to the rematch. He framed Game 6 as one Montreal let slip without finishing, while Tampa Bay gets the chance to answer that assessment on its own ice.