"We're in playoff mode right now": Captain Nick Suzuki makes big statement after Canadiens' commanding win over Senators

Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki made a bold statement after the Canadiens secured a 6-3 commanding victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

The win improves the Canadiens’ record to 36-26-5 and keeps them in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. After scoring in the first period, Montreal erupted for five goals in the third to pull away from Ottawa.

“Yeah, I mean, this is our biggest win of the season for sure,” said Suzuki.

“You know, the next one's going to be the biggest one. We're in playoff mode right now. We can't afford any losses or giving up points. So, it was a big effort in the third to get the win in regulation.”

The Canadiens started slowly, with Ottawa taking a 2-1 lead going into the second intermission. But Montreal settled down during the break and came out firing in the third period.

“We just kind of came in here after the second period, just tried to settle down,” explained Suzuki.

“I think we knew we hadn’t really brought our best hockey so just trying to stick to the game plan, go out there and execute at a higher level, and we were rewarded for it.”

Suzuki scored the eventual game-winner halfway through the period to break a 3-3 tie. Josh Anderson netted two goals, while Brendan Gallagher, Lane Hutson and Christian Dvorak also scored for Montreal. Sam Montembeault stopped 22 shots in the winning effort.

Travis Hamonic, Drake Batherson and Michael Amadio scored for the Senators, while Linus Ullmark has 27 saves for the Senators.

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Game recap: Canadiens' 6-3 win over Senators

Dvorak put Montreal on the board at 2:07 of the first, deking around Ullmark on a breakaway. Batherson evened the score at 16:42 with a wrist shot from the slot.

Amadio gave the Senators a 2-1 lead at 12:38 of the second, tapping in a loose puck after Hamonic’s shot slipped behind Montembeault.

Hutson tied it again at 3:38 of the third with a wrist shot from the left dot, but Hamonic answered at 6:13 with a slap shot to put Ottawa back on top, 3-2.

“I don’t care who scores the goals,” Canadiens HC St. Louis said. “But I’m very happy the secondary scoring is coming, you need that to help you win games.”

Anderson evened it up 3-3 at 10:22, burying a rebound near the crease.

Suzuki then put Montreal ahead 4-3 with a power-play goal at 4:37. Anderson added an empty-netter at 1:44 for his second goal of the night, and Gallagher sealed the 6-3 win with another empty-net goal at 0:59.