Canadiens' Nick Suzuki out 2-4 weeks with an injury that ends his ironman streak

MONTREAL (AP) — Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is out 2-4 weeks with what the team called an upper-body injury, ending his ironman run of 546 regular-season games that was the second-longest active streak in the NHL.

Only Colorado's Brent Burns at 1,017 has played more consecutive games. Suzuki's streak dating to his debut in 2019 ranked 20th in league history.

The 27-year-old center was absent from practice Thursday as Montreal prepared to face Chicago on Friday without its leading scorer.

“It’s a huge loss," winger Cole Caufield said. “Nobody can really fill Suzy’s shoes. We know that as a group. Everybody has to step up.”

Suzuki played just over 21 minutes in Montreal’s 4-3 overtime loss to San Jose on Tuesday, scoring a goal and adding an assist. He was struck on the left hand by a shot from Sharks defenseman Michael Kesselring with just over five minutes remaining in the third period.

Suzuki, who had 101 points last season, is tied for second on the Canadiens with five goals and has 12 points in nine games.

“He’s one of the biggest parts of this team,” winger Juraj Slafkovsky said. “We can’t do anything about it. We just got to wait and fight for him.”

The loss is another blow to Montreal, which is already without promising young forward Ivan Demidov. The 20-year-old has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since early October and was seen wearing a walking boot on his right foot Tuesday.

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