The Montreal Canadiens (4-3-2) will face Chicago Blackhawks (3-6-0) on Friday night, with puck drop set for 8 p.m. ET.

For the first time in 546 games, the Canadiens will take the ice without Nick Suzuki. The captain is expected to miss two to four weeks with an upper-body injury sustained after blocking a shot in the third period of Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.

Suzuki is clearly the most important player in the lineup—not only as the reigning Selke Trophy winner and a 100+ point scorer, but because nearly everything positive the Canadiens generate goes through him. Many of his cerebral plays go unnoticed simply because of how consistently he makes them, particularly in the neutral zone. Hockey is a game of details, and few players understand those details better than Suzuki.

On Friday night, his iron-man streak will come to an end.

Replacing him on the top line is sophomore Oliver Kapanen, who has not scored since late March of last season. Suzuki is an elite two-way centre; Kapanen still struggles defensively. Asking a 23-year-old Finn to fill those shoes, while facing the league’s toughest competition and being expected to drive possession, is a steep challenge to say the least.

Truth be told, those results are nearly impossible to replicate.

Such is life when you lose one of the NHL’s top centres without having addressed the team’s ongoing lack of depth down the middle of the ice. On a positive note, Suzuki was already back on the ice in Brossard on Friday morning, skating with a left-handed stick—suggesting he injured his right hand while blocking the shot.

If the Canadiens are to enjoy some semblance of success without Suzuki, they’ll have to do a much better job in two key categories; special teams and discipline. Versus the Sharks, the game was well in hand until a pair of useless penalties led to the game-tying and game-winning goal for San Jose on the powerplay.

The lack of discipline is an ongoing issue, though it’s quite noticeable this season, as the Habs have taken more minors per game than any other team in the NHL. Over the course of the last few years, only the Florida Panthers have absorbed more penalty minutes as a result of minor infractions.

In other lineup news, the Habs recalled Owen Beck from the Laval Rocket, a little over 24 hours after they had reassigned him in the first place. He will play on the fourth line, while veteran Mike Matheson will replace rookie Adam Engstrom on the blue line. Rookie netminder Jacob Fowler will guard the net.

The game will represent the first in which Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard will serve as captain versus the Canadiens. In five career games, the 21-year-old forward has scored one goal and four assists.

For the view from the other side of the rink, don’t forget to visit Chicago Hockey Now.

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Cole Caufield – Oliver Kapanen – Juraj Slafkovsky

Chris Kreider- Alex Newhook – Josh Anderson

Zach Bolduc – Phillip Danault – Alexandre Texier

Jake Evans- Jake Evans – Owen Beck

Lane Hutson – Noah Dobson

Kaiden Guhle – Alexandre Carrier

Arber Xhekaj – Mike Matheson*

Jacob Fowler

Chicago Blackhawks Projected Lineup

Roman Kantserov – Connor Bedard – Patrick Kane

Tyler Bertuzzi – Anton Frondell – Teuvo Teravainen

Oliver Moore – Frank Nazar – Ryan Donato

Cole Smith – Ryan Greene – Jordan Greenway

Alex Vlasic – Ian Cole

Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levshunov

Ethan Del Mastro – Sam Rinzel

Spencer Knight

Canadiens vs. Blackhawks – How To Watch

The Montreal Canadiens versus the Chicago Blackhawks, Friday, October 23, will be aired on TSN2 and RDS. An instant recap complete with highlights will be immediately available on Sportsnaut once the final whistle blows.