As American families gathered for Thanksgiving celebrations, the NHL season reached a critical benchmark where playoff contenders begin separating from pretenders. For the Montreal Canadiens, this holiday brought mixed fortunes but highlighted one undeniable truth: captain Nick Suzuki is building a compelling case for international recognition.
Playoff Positioning and Thanksgiving Trends
The Canadiens find themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, sitting tied in points with Pittsburgh for the final wild-card spot despite holding fewer regulation wins. This represents significant improvement from their position last Thanksgiving, when they occupied the conference basement.
Historical data suggests teams in playoff position on Thanksgiving Day maintain their standing 77% of the time in the salary-cap era. Montreal briefly held third place in the Atlantic Division following their 4-3 victory over the Utah Mammoth before Ottawa's shootout win against Vegas dropped them to ninth in the conference.
Suzuki's Two-Way Dominance
Nick Suzuki continues to demonstrate why he deserves serious consideration for both Team Canada's Olympic roster and the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward. The Canadiens captain is currently on pace for a 97-point season after recording two goals and an assist against Utah.
Beyond his offensive production, Suzuki's defensive commitment shone through with four blocked shots in the same game, underscoring the complete two-way game that makes him invaluable to Montreal's success.
Supporting Cast Stepping Up
Goaltender Jakub Dobeš has firmly established himself as the number one option between the pipes, improving his record to 8-2-2 with a perfect 5-0-2 road record. His performance against Utah proved crucial as Montreal was outshot 34-17 but still emerged victorious.
Forward Zachary Bolduc received a confidence boost with a three-point performance in Utah after struggling through an 18-game stretch with only three points. Coach Martin St. Louis's decision to move Bolduc to the top line alongside Suzuki and Cole Caufield appears to be developing positive chemistry through their first four games together.
December Challenges Ahead
The Canadiens face a demanding schedule with 17 games packed into the final 34 days of 2025, including four back-to-back scenarios in December alone. The month begins favorably with eight of their first eleven games at home before a challenging seven-game road trip spanning from December 21 to January 4.
To remain in playoff contention, analysts suggest Montreal needs to secure approximately 20 points from these 17 games. The team should receive reinforcements in the new year when Kaiden Guhle and Kirby Dach return from injury, providing additional depth for the playoff push.
Despite ranking 29th in shots per game at 25.1, the Canadiens sit third in goals per game at 3.45, demonstrating remarkable shooting efficiency. Rookie scoring leader Ivan Demidov extended his points streak to four games with a goal in Utah, though his line with Oliver Kapanen and Juraj Slafkovsky managed only that single shot on goal.
Kapanen continues to grow into the coveted second-line center role, tying for fourth in rookie scoring and sharing the rookie goal lead with seven, though his defensive game requires further development.
