Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki out two to four weeks, ending 546-game iron man streak
The Montreal Canadiens captain will miss game action for the first time in his NHL career.
MONTREAL — Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki will be out for two to four weeks with an upper-body injury, the team announced Thursday.
The injury ends Suzuki's iron man streak at 546 consecutive regular-season games played since his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season, marking the first time he will miss a game in his eight-year career.
"The Canadiens updated Suzuki's status on the social media platform X without providing further details," Sportsnet reported.
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Suzuki was struck on the left hand by a shot from San Jose Sharks defenceman Michael Kesselring with just over five minutes remaining in the third period of Tuesday's 4-3 overtime loss.
The centre finished the game but did not speak to the media afterward because he was receiving treatment, according to the team's communications staff.
He played just over 21 minutes in that game, scoring a goal and adding an assist.
Suzuki is tied for second on the Canadiens with five goals and has 12 points in nine games this season, along with a plus-6 rating.
He is coming off a career-best 101-point campaign in 2025-26, where he posted 29 goals, 72 assists and a plus-37 rating in 82 games.
That season he also won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward and was a member of Team Canada's silver-medal team at the 2026 Olympics.
His streak was the second-longest active streak in the NHL behind Colorado Avalanche defenceman Brent Burns at 1,017 games, and the 20th-longest in league history.
In a corresponding roster move, the Canadiens recalled forward Owen Beck from the American Hockey League's Laval Rocket on Thursday morning.
Beck had been sent down to the Rocket on Wednesday and scored a goal in Laval's 5-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch that evening.
He did not record a point in two games with the Canadiens earlier this season.
The Canadiens, with a 4-3-2 record and ranked sixth in the Atlantic Division, are scheduled to return to action Friday night in Chicago to begin a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams.
Garbutt Disposal reported earlier this month that Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov is also out two to four weeks with a lower-body injury.
With files from The Hockey News, Sportsnet and CBC News