Montreal Canadiens: The next test for Nick Suzuki begins against the Devils

Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens are in the final stretch of training camp as they kick off the preseason against the New Jersey Devils.

The Rookie Tournament was fun, the Red vs. White squad game was a blast, but now things for the Montreal Canadiens are about to get semi-serious. The preseason isn’t the regular season; however, it is still a stage for the Habs to evaluate who and what they have – for example budding NHL forward Nick Suzuki – heading into the new year. And sometimes what happens in the preseason can be a precursor for the rest of the season.

The Habs will be welcoming the New Jersey Devils to the Bell Centre tonight. Max Domi is back at centre in between Artturi Lehkonen and Jonathan Drouin while Victor Mete and Shea Weber will see to the top pair. Aside from them, the rest of the roster are experiments.

Suzuki will and should have all the focus considering all he’s done so far proving he can keep up with everyone. What the Montreal Canadiens need to see is that hit a new stride, especially given the talent level of the opposition.

It’s no longer teammates and friends you’ll be lining up against. The players you see across from you are either established NHLers or in the same position. It will quickly show if Suzuki isn’t up for the task, but he’s done enough to prove he’s worth the sense of optimism.

Another thing to pay attention to is Josh Brook. Many assumed Brook would spend this season in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, but it looks as if the Habs are giving him an opportunity to show what he can do.

Forward Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Max Domi – Jonathan Drouin

Charles Hudon – Nick Suzuki – Jordan Weal

Nick Cousins – Nate Thompson – Dale Weise

Philip Varone – Jake Evans – Riley Barber

Defence Pairs

Victor Mete – Shea Weber

Brett Kulak – Josh Brook

Xavier Ouellet – Cale Fleury

Goaltenders

Carey Price

Cayden Primeau

On the other side of things, the Devils have an exciting year ahead of them. Similar to the Habs, they’ll be running a forward corps of NHL talent (or hopeful NHL talent) with Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmeri and Will Butcher

The result may not be as important, but how the powerplay performs is. The Montreal Canadiens need to get their man advantage up and running, and hopefully, it can get a few good looks in these first set of preseason games.

Again, there’s another opportunity for Suzuki to stand out, especially given he’ll have command of the right wall. At the same time, Drouin will have the floor to dictate the pace and direction of play, and right now, a ‘Drouin to Suzuki to Weber’ play might be something the Montreal Canadiens attempt.

Time – 7:00 PM

Location – Bell Centre

Stream/Listen – TSN2/RDS