Nick Suzuki becomes Montreal Canadiens all time leader in points for a captain

Montreal Canadiens' Nick Suzuki (14) skates towards the puck as Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) clears the puck during third period NHL hockey action, in Montreal on Thursday, April 9, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

Alongside his linemate Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki entered hallowed waters during Thursday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In setting up Caufield for the winger’s historic 50th goal and Juraj Slafkovsky’s also impressive 30th goal, Suzuki notched his 97th and 98th points of the season (28 goals, 70 assists), surpassing former captain Vincent Damphousse’s 97 (39 goals, 58 assists) in 1992-93.

With three games to play, Suzuki is on track to become the first Montreal Canadiens player to reach 100 points in four decades, since Mats Naslund did it in 1985-86.

No Habs captain has notched more points in a season, and only four players have ended the season with more points: Steve Shutt (105: 1976-1977); Mats Naslund (110: 1985-86); Pete Mahovlich twice (105: 1975-76 and 117: 1974-75) and Guy Lafleur.

Lafleur did it six times: 1976-77 (136); 1977-78 (132); 1978-79 (129); 1975-76 (125); 1979-80 (125); and 1974-75 (119).

In the history of the NHL, 128 players have reached the 100-point mark, with Wayne Gretzky (15 times), Mario Lemieux (10 times) and Connor McDavid (nine times) pulling it off the most.

Other notable fun facts from Thursday

Slafkovsky’s 30th goal means he is the first Slovakian player to reach the mark since Marian Hossa in 2013-14.

With his 29th go-ahead goal of the season, Caufield is now second all-time in that category, behind Hall of Famer Brett Hull, who scored 39 go-ahead goals in 1990-91.