December 7, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nBut this should not simply go down as a non-regulation win. Not for a Canadiens team that had been struggling to get back to a tight-checking neutral zone game, and held a morning meeting Saturday emphasizing what they need to do to tighten up in the defensive zone. Not for a Canadiens team that dominated much of the first 40 minutes of this game and only had a 1-0 lead to show for it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the sort of thing that goes down as more of a building block than a non-regulation win.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the defensive part of our game tonight was the best I\u2019ve seen it, to be honest,\u201d coach Martin St. Louis said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t give them much. We know what we\u2019re capable of, but are you willing to do the things? It\u2019s not what you\u2019re capable of. And I thought tonight, did we raise the standards in that department? My guess is yes. Now it\u2019s up to the players to keep those standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over Toronto\u2019s three previous games, all wins on the road, the Maple Leafs had earned 51.3, 77.4 and 52.2 percent edges in expected goals, and a combined 4-1 edge in goals at five-on-five with Auston Matthews on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. Against the Canadiens on Saturday, the Maple Leafs got 40.7 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five with Matthews on the ice.<\/p>\n
And while it\u2019s easy to sometimes take it for granted, a big reason for that is Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, who went pointless for only the sixth time this season. But Suzuki has consistently shown an ability to win this matchup, even when the Canadiens are nowhere close to matching the Maple Leafs\u2019 talent.<\/p>\n
Over the last three seasons, there is no forward in the NHL Matthews has been on the ice with at five-on-five more often than Suzuki, at 66 minutes and 37 seconds. In that ice time, the Canadiens have controlled 55.3 percent of the expected goals. In the 48:54 Matthews has played against the Canadiens over that time without Suzuki on the ice, the Maple Leafs have controlled 56.7 percent of the expected goals.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a stark difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like having Suzy, the way he plays the game on both sides, he can be annoying defensively and he can be annoying offensively. I thought he did that tonight,\u201d St. Louis said. \u201cUnfortunately at five-on-five that line didn\u2019t get rewarded, but they did a lot of great stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suzuki and his linemates, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd, have often come into this building over their NHL careers feeling they had a mountain to climb, knowing they were facing Matthews and Mitch Marner for most of the night, knowing their team\u2019s chance of success rested heavily on their ability to win that matchup.<\/p>\n
Marner is gone, but Matthew Knies remains a strong wingman for Matthews. Yet Suzuki has dominated his five-on-five minutes against Matthews in two games this season (Matthews was injured the last time the teams played), to the tune of a 73.9 percent expected goals percentage.<\/p>\n
The dynamic in this matchup is changing, much like the dynamic between the two teams. The Maple Leafs are hoping to keep a window open long enough to compete for a Stanley Cup. The Canadiens are hoping to open a window that would allow them to one day compete for a Stanley Cup. They are two ships seemingly passing in the night.<\/p>\n
And instead of the Canadiens\u2019 top line feeling the need to level up against the Maple Leafs\u2019 top line, it is now perhaps the other way around.<\/p>\n
When Slafkovsk\u00fd was presented with this theory, he clearly did not feel comfortable addressing it in such blunt terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be confident,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know he\u2019s good, we know they have good players. So we know when they\u2019re on the ice, we just try to do our job. Maybe we\u2019re not as flashy and stuff, but we want to play hard no matter who is against us. We played that way tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
But later, away from cameras, Slafkovsk\u00fd was able to admit that maybe the dynamic is indeed changing, and it has nothing to do with Matthews or the quality of his play declining. It has everything to do with how the line of Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsk\u00fd feels about itself, about where it stands in the league and about where it feels its game is going.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just about facing Matthews. It is about facing any of the NHL\u2019s top players. Some nights it won\u2019t go quite as well, but more often than not, Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsk\u00fd are able to win their matchup. And when they do, it doesn\u2019t feel like some sort of huge accomplishment.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re maturing,\u201d Slafkovsk\u00fd, 21, finally said.<\/p>\n
He was talking about his line, but it applies to the Canadiens as a whole. Consistency remains fleeting. What works one night won\u2019t necessarily work the next. When one area of their game levels up, another tends to slip, all hallmarks of the youngest team in the league.<\/p>\n
This one game, however, was mature. It was a good road win against a team that had built some momentum and was coming home to play in front of a restless fan base, looking to build on that momentum.<\/p>\n
The Canadiens halted it, led by their captain winning his matchup against the Maple Leafs captain. As he usually does.<\/p>\n
When Team Canada begins its final Olympic deliberations Sunday, Suzuki\u2019s consistent ability to quiet Matthews might be something it should keep in mind.<\/p>\n