Montreal Canadiens: What do the stats say of Nick Suzuki and Cale Fleury?

Suzuki is a different story. He’s spent the majority of his time in the top six with Domi and Artturi Lehkonen before being bumped down to play with Nate Thompson and Paul Byron. In the top-six, you’re expected to not only be responsible defensively but to generate offence, and when dealing with Julien as a coach, the latter needs to take precedent despite playing the easier position.

Suzuki has a total of three shots on goal, four scoring chances, and one high-danger scoring chance in his five games this season. When looking further, he isn’t getting much going possession-wise with a 46% Corsi-for while his expected goals are approximately one. His low expected goals speak not only to the number of shots taken but the area of them. There is not much danger or urgency here.

His shot generation numbers are what you’d expect at -15.84. However, playing with Domi and Lehkonen can attest to that as both are players who shoot the puck as much as possible and get the most touches as a line. What is reassuring is his shot suppression, which is at a 0.48, a fair value at this stage.

Keep in mind that he wasn’t only playing in the top six. When on the fourth line, Suzuki’s shot attempts against may have decreased – a positive sign in Julien’s eyes – but his ability to create offence did as well.

Another thing that doesn’t look too good is how badly Suzuki is getting hit.

Being able to put yourself in safe areas is a skill developed over the years in the NHL. Suzuki isn’t the biggest body, and this isn’t to say he won’t be able to thrive in the big leagues, but he does need to add more muscle and be aware of his surroundings. Hits were something Taylor Hall experience a lot in the first few years of his career, but he gained the knowledge of how to work around it over time.