MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens will have to find a way to win without their captain after the team announced Thursday that Nick Suzuki will miss two to four weeks with an upper-body injury.

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

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

The injury will end Suzuki’s ironman streak at 546 regular-season games since joining the Canadiens in 2019-20. It was the second-longest active streak behind Colorado defenceman Brent Burns at 1,017. It was the 20th-longest streak in NHL history.

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.

Habs captain Suzuki out two to four weeks, ending ironman streak at 546 games | iNFOnews.ca — Montreal Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki (14) celebrates his goal over the San Jose Sharks with teammates Juraj Slafkovsky (20) and Cole Caufield (13) during first period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

He was struck on the left hand by a shot from defenceman Michael Kesselring with just over five minutes remaining in the third period.

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.

Suzuki, who had 101 points in 2025-26, is tied for second on the Canadiens with five goals and has 12 points in nine games this season.

“I mean, obviously it sucks. He’s one of the biggest parts of this team. We can’t do anything about it. We just got to wait and fight for him,” said Juraj Slafkovsky, the third member of the Habs’ top line.

With Suzuki out, Caufield and Slafkovsky practised on a line centred by Oliver Kapanen.

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.

In another 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.

Beck did not record a point in two games with the Canadiens this season.

The Canadiens (4-3-2) are scheduled to return to action Friday night in Chicago.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026.