Londoners cheer on hometowner Nick Suzuki as Habs get ready for Stanley Cup finals

Londoners are cheering from home as one of their very own star athletes competes in the Stanley Cup finals with the Montreal Canadiens.

21-year-old Nick Suzuki, born and raised in London, Ont., is making his hometown proud on his team's quest for the cup. 

On Thursday, the Canadiens celebrated a 3-2 overtime win after beating the Vegas Golden Knights in game six. Teammates Josh Anderson and Corey Perry were also London Knights early on in their hockey careers.

The Canadiens will face off the defending champs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Monday night at 8 p.m., for game one of the finals. 

With travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Suzuki's parents will be cheering him on from their couch in their London home.

His mom, Amanda Suzuki, said it's been "surreal" watching her son play on the NHL but challenging at the same time as travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are keeping her from attending the games in person.

"We haven't seen Nick since he left to go back to Montreal in January," she said. "We normally would see them face to face at least once a week."

Suzuki said she is both excited and nervous for the team as they set off for a shot at the Stanley Cup.

"I know that there's been a lot of doubters out there that felt that the Canadiens wouldn't make it past round one, but they did and they said the same thing about round two and round three," Suzuki said.

"And here we are, going into the Stanley Cup finals."

She said the partners of the teammates have a mantra: "Good vibes only," which she adopted as well.

"We're just saying we believe in you, we support you and we're here for you."

As the puck drops in the first game in the finals, the community excited for the weeks to come. 

St. Aidan's Anglican Church Reverend Canon Kevin George is a Habs 'superfan.'

George grew up in Newfoundland Labrador, the youngest of seven children. Five cheer for the Habs, one for the Toronto Maple Leafs and one for the Boston Bruins.

"It's been so exciting," George said. "We were told they didn't have a chance against the mighty Maple Leafs. Many of my friends who are Leafs fans told me they won't win one game."

In the first round of the playoffs, the Canadiens eliminated the Maple Leafs in game seven. 

"They really have shut down three of the finer teams in the league and I'm excited to see what they're going to do to Tampa too."

But George is not only excited that his team gets to play in the finals, but to also have Suzuki and Cory represent London.

"We put it right on our sign for London folks to get behind Nick and get behind Cory and cheer for them to bring it home."