Suzuki Set to Return as Canadiens Captain Ends Six-Game Absence Against Mammoth

Nick Suzuki is back — and the Montreal Canadiens have missed their captain more than the standings alone can show. Suzuki will return to the lineup against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night after missing six games with an upper-body injury. It is the first absence of his career of any real length: he had played 546 consecutive games to start his NHL career before the injury struck, a run that ended when he could not even hold a stick in his left hand. The 27-year-old has been skating left-handed while he recovered, and he spoke of how strange it felt arriving at the rink alone while the rest of the group was away. Now he rejoins a side that has had to cope without its most important forward. Suzuki's numbers underline what Montreal has been missing. He has 12 points — five goals and seven assists — in nine games this season, following a career year in which he posted 101 points, finished plus-37 and won the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward. His return comes on a busy night of comebacks around the league. Evgeni Malkin is also set to return for Pittsburgh against Boston after missing one game with a lower-body injury, while Taylor Hall is hopeful of playing for Carolina against the Islanders after nine games out. But for Montreal, Suzuki's comeback is the one that matters most — the captain is back, and the Canadiens are whole again.