After Jakub Dobes' weak Game 5 goal, Nick Suzuki's gesture says everything
Nick Suzuki picked his moment Thursday night, and it wasn't on the scoresheet. The Canadiens captain skated straight to Jakub Dobes after Buffalo's third goal, tapped his pads, and told him the loss wasn't on him.
He explained the gesture after the 6-3 win in Buffalo.
- Nick Suzuki
The quote landed because of who said it. Suzuki put up a goal and two assists in the same game, including a power-play marker, and still made the night about his goaltender.
That's the part veteran captains figure out eventually. The kid in the crease is 24, in his first real playoff run, and just gave up three goals in four shots.
Dobes finished with 33 saves on 36 shots. His postseason numbers now sit at 5-3 with a .915 save percentage across 12 appearances.
Why the captain's tap mattered more than any goal
Buffalo had pulled within one earlier in the night before Montreal pulled away. The third Sabres goal was the moment the building thought it had a series shift coming.
It didn't come. Juraj Slafkovsky piled up three assists and Lane Hutson chipped in two more helpers. Ivan Demidov added a goal and an assist.
But the storyline walking out of KeyBank Center wasn't the offense. It was a captain making sure his rookie goalie didn't carry weight he didn't need to carry.
You don't teach that. You either do it or you don't.
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Martin St-Louis has leaned on Dobes through this run, and Suzuki's public defense reinforces the room's stance. The young Czech keeper isn't being managed. He's being trusted.
Suzuki has built his playoff resume quietly, with 12 points in 12 games. The captaincy work shows up in moments like this one.
What happens the next time Dobes gives up an early one? The captain just told the whole room how that conversation will go.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 14, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Phillip Danault | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Josh Anderson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Josh Doan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mikael Granlund | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Konsta Helenius | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||