The Montreal Canadiens’ infirmary is overwhelmed. As a result, some players are getting more and more minutes on the ice. Such is the case of Captain Nick Suzuki.

Averaging 21 minutes and 20 seconds on the ice, Suzuki is Martin St-Louis’ handyman. But we see that Suzuki has slowed its pace early in the season. In fact, the captain has only hit the back of the net once in his last 19 games.

“It’s a bit normal and besides, (Cole) Caufield is injured,” underlined Gatineau Olympiques coach Louis Robitaille on Monday’s broadcast The blue bag Midday at TVA Sports. Last year, in-season production had also declined.

“Yes, he is captain. Yes, he is our best player. But he’s still a young captain, a young leader. He is also currently going through emergencies in a club that is being rebuilt with an incredible list of injuries. That puts a lot of pressure on him.”

In addition to general physical fatigue, Robitaille could foresee other problems for Suzuki, such as an increased risk of injury.

“You have the coach on the other side, his captain, he is his player, his henchman. And that’s when you overwhelm him and he can wrinkle badly from fatigue, Robitaille continued. […] It has to be less. […] But the fans pay top dollar and want their captain. If he can be on the ice 70%, Martin will say that putting him on the ice is better than a recalled player.

“I don’t know if we’re going to help him. I don’t think it’s going to hurt his confidence, but you want him to keep bringing you good hockey. He’s not a player at the peak of his career. He still has crusts to eat, life experiences and adversity. It’s hard to do it there and commit 100% to it when you know you’re definitely going to go back. […] And there are also injuries.

See it in the video above.