Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki shared his honest reaction to the Habs being knocked out of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.
Suzuki and the Canadiens saw their Stanley Cup hopes and dreams dashed for good this season when the Carolina Hurricanes defeated them 6-1 on Friday night to win the Eastern Conference Finals 4-1.
For the Habs, this loss ends what has otherwise been an incredible season, as the team racked up 106 regular-season points before taking out the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Unfortunately for Suzuki and the Habs, it’s all over now.
Nick Suzuki Shares His Reaction to Canadiens Being Eliminated From Playoffs
Speaking to reporters after the Habs were eliminated from playoff contention by the Hurricanes, Suzuki shared his honest reaction to the devastating loss.
“There’s a lot of different feelings, obviously. It sucks what just occurred in the series, obviously. We thought we could probably do a little better, but still a lot of pride in the group and what we accomplished this year, and the guys fought right to the end. We had a grueling, pretty grueling three rounds, and we just kept pushing. I think, looking back at the whole season, there’s a lot of positives to take away from it,” Suzuki said.
What’s Next for Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens?
Although losing to the Hurricanes obviously is painful for the Canadiens, this is still the youngest team in the entire NHL, so their future is extremely bright despite this bitter loss.
The Canadiens took a major step forward this season as they finished in third place in the stacked Atlantic Division, just three points behind the Buffalo Sabres, who won the division. The Canadiens then beat the Sabres in the playoffs, proving they can hang with one of the league’s best teams, plus they beat the Lightning, who are one of the most experienced playoff teams in the NHL. So, those two playoff series victories showed that the Canadiens are on the right track, for sure.
That being said, they were essentially outclassed by Carolina, so Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis and his squad know they still have a ton of work to do if they want to be a true Stanley Cup contender.
This summer, the Canadiens will surely look to upgrade their roster. The team is said to be in the market for a second-line center to help give Suzuki some help, which would, in turn, improve the depth of the rest of their forward group. As well, the Canadiens could look to add a depth scoring winger, another veteran defender, and potentially bring in a new backup goaltender for starter Jakub Dobes, who had a breakout performance for the team during this year’s postseason run.
The Canadiens are an excellent young team on the rise, and they have the right pieces in place to be a contender for years to come. With all the experience they gained during this season’s postseason run, plus some roster additions this offseason, look for Montreal to be even stronger next year.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Nick Suzuki Reacts to Canadiens Being Eliminated From Playoffs appeared first on HEAVY.