It's a crazy thought but Brandon Banks wrote it down anyway: 18 for 18.

As in 18 punt return touchdowns in 18 games.

That seems ludicrous, especially given that the CFL record for an entire season is five, shared by Hall-of-Famer Henry "Gizmo" Williams and some guy named Chris Williams, who did it while wearing a Hamilton Tiger-Cat uniform in 2012. But Banks has a punt return touchdown in each of his first two games this season and heads to Montreal for this Thursday's matchup a confident man.

"I decided that if I'm suiting for all 18 games, then it's possible," Banks said, who put pen to paper during the bye week. "I feel like our system is clicking and that guys are believing in me. I think we've hit our stride."

Banks' hot start is as actually a continuation of a scoring streak he started late last season. In his last seven games going back to Oct. 25, 2014, Banks has registered nine touchdowns: four receiving, one kickoff return ... and four punt returns.

Two of those punt returns came the last time these teams met, the Ticats' 40-24 Eastern Final win over Montreal. In fact, Hamilton has ended the Alouettes' season the last two years and quarterback Zach Collaros says some animus has developed between the clubs.

"It seems like it's been the same guys there since I've been in the league and they've been a very good defence the entire time. They're smart, they're physical, they're nasty," Collaros said. "Even when I was in Toronto, I didn't like playing Montreal. That's a credit to them."

The Alouettes are 1-2 to start the season and are dealing with a rash of injuries that have included their top two quarterbacks. Rookie Rakeem Cato was spectacular in a week two win over Calgary, completing 80 per cent of passes while connecting on two touchdowns. While he threw two interceptions in last week's loss to Winnipeg, Ticat head coach Kent Austin — who knows a little something about quarterbacks — says Cato seems to have the necessary tools to succeed.

"I saw a guy that's pretty accurate, he has enough mobility to get out of trouble, he seems calm in the pocket," Austin said. "Those are the types of things that you look for in a guy that's new in this league."

The Ticats have injury problems of their own. The team is missing two starting defensive backs — Canadian corner Courtney Stephen and halfback Johnny Sears — and will have to both shuffle their ratio and insert first-year Ticat Donald Washington into the lineup. The secondary could be a trouble spot given that Montreal's S.J. Green leads the CFL with 285 receiving yards and has essentially owned the Ticats of late.

But Banks' special teams production can help mask a number of a flaws, including the fact that the Ticats have scored a league-low three offensive touchdowns this season. He says the rule changes in the punting game — which limit the number of players who can race downfield before the kick — have made a noticeable difference.

"They aren't on top of me as fast this year. My focus is catching the ball and getting upfield, then I start gauging where the players are so I can set up the blocks," Banks said. "It used to be you had to catch the ball, make somebody miss and then take off."

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After signing a three-year contract extension in the off-season, Banks has embraced his role as team ambassador and he's always been a fan favourite. He's set lofty personal goals — and says there's only one team goal — only because he feels they're attainable.

"I know the system, I know where to be, I know what the expectations are," he said. "I'm comfortable on and off the field. But I still want to hit those numbers."