Hidden Game: Cole Caufield finally scores 50th goal in Canadiens’ crucial victory against Lightning
Somehow, it was worth the wait and played out as it was meant to be.
It took three full games and 26:30 of a fourth, but Cole Caufield — finally — scored his elusive 50th goal this season in the Canadiens’ hard-fought 2-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.
It only seemed fitting the goal would be scored on home ice — and with Caufield’s father, Paul, in attendance. Along with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
If anyone still hasn’t witnessed the moment, it occurred at 8:21 p.m., and the ovation wouldn’t have ended had the officials not resumed the game as quickly as possible.
Nick Suzuki fed Caufield in the right-wing circle, and the Canadiens’ sniper beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to the stick side. It was Montreal’s ninth shot of the game.
Caufield had a team-leading five of the Canadiens’ 21 shots — four alone in the first period. He also had four missed shots and one attempt that was blocked. Caufield becomes the first Montreal player to score 50 goals in a season since Stéphane Richer in 1990.
He said it: “It happened pretty quick and I couldn’t have drawn it up in a better way,” Caufield said. “It was cool having my dad in the building and seeing his reaction. It’s pretty special and it means a lot. It’s obviously a huge win for us and (a goal) that I’ll always remember.
“I’m not going to lie. I was pretty stressed out the past couple of days,” Caufield added. “Honestly, it felt like it was never going to come there for a couple of days. Three games, but it felt like forever. I’m just glad it’s over with now.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Caufield said. “I was fortunate enough to go to the right place and the right team. Who knows where I’d be at with a different team? I’m very lucky and fortunate to accomplish this.”
But, wait, there’s more: Juraj Slafkovsky reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. It also happened to be the winning goal.
And we’re not done yet: Suzuki drew assists on both goals. The Canadiens’ captain now has 98 points this season with three games remaining. He has 28 goals and 70 assists. He becomes the highest-scoring Montreal captain in a single season.
Sieve of the night: While Vasilevskiy’s save percentage was a commendable .905, he totally overplayed Caufield’s shot and was badly out of position.
News you need (Part I): Not only did the Canadiens win for the 10th time in their last 11 games, they moved into second place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Tampa Bay. Buffalo shut out Columbus 5-0, and is first in the division, two points ahead of Montreal. Both the Canadiens and Lightning hold a game in hand on the Sabres. The Canadiens must complete the season with more points than Tampa Bay, based on regulation wins, to secure home-ice advantage in the opening-round of the playoffs.
Strange, but true: Caufield, who probably will go down as the greatest scorer in Canadiens’ history when all is said and done, scored for only the second time in his career against Vasilevskiy.
And what a series it potentially will be: We’re old enough to remember Original Six hockey, when teams and players hated each other. The Canadiens and Lightning combined for 126 penalty minutes, including seven 10-minute misconducts. Tampa Bay took 71 penalty minutes, increasing its league-leading total to 1,187. Should these teams meet again in slightly more than a week, the games might take four hours to be completed. But it will be glorious, in our humble opinion.
And this is why they’re the NHL’s most-penalized team: Less than four minutes into the game, Yanni Gourde started the penalty stream with a double high-sticking minor against Jayden Struble.
Great moments in officiating (Part I): Arber Xhekaj shoved his glove in the face of the notorious Corey Perry in the first period. Perry’s head snapped back as if he had been shot. Xhekaj received a roughing minor. Perry could have been called for embellishment. Kudos to him.
Great moments in officiating (Part II): Ivan Demidov barely touched Declan Carlile with his stick in the same period, but was assessed a high-sticking minor.
Game of inches: Both Suzuki and Slafkovsky hit the post late in the opening period.
Does he also do windows?: The Royal Rumble commenced early in the second period, with Struble against Emil Lilleberg. That resulted in seven minor penalties being assessed. Poor Lane Hutson was seen picking up his teammates’ sticks.
News you need (Part II): The teams combined for 112 penalty minutes through two periods. That’s the most in an NHL game this season following 40 minutes.
Coaches can show emotion, too: Jon Cooper, who has been behind the Lightning bench since March 2013, was seen pumping his first after Darren Raddysh tied the score with 1:51 remaining in regulation time.
No fist-pumping for you … one year: Only 47 seconds later, Slafkovsky scored the winning goal while being knocked down.
Pass of the night: Suzuki to Slafkovsky.
Next time, decline the penalty: Somehow, the Canadiens managed to go 0-for-7 on the power play. The Lightning wasn’t much better, failing on four manpower advantages.
Quick stats: Slafkovsky had three shots. Kirby Dach had five hits, as did Joe Veleno. Despite playing only 8:45, Xhekaj had four hits, as did Noah Dobson. Struble had five hits and blocked three shots. Jakub Dobes’ save percentage was .944. He also won his seventh consecutive game. The indefatigable Hutson played 29:17. Mike Matheson played 25:42, while Suzuki logged 22:25. The Canadiens won 52.4 per cent of their faceoffs and outhit the visitors 34-29.
They said it: “It was pretty special to see Cole score 50,” Suzuki said. “Not a lot of guys in the history of the league have done it. It’s pretty cool to be part of that goal. The last one was a big moment for (Slafkovsky), hitting another milestone.
“Both teams had the same thing in mind,” he added. “It was physical. A lot of emotion. A lot of scrums. If we see them in the first round, a lot more of that to come. It should be fun.”
“I like how we fought for each other,” Slafkovsky said. “I enjoyed this game. I’m glad (Caufield) finally has it. Hopefully, he can get a couple more. I like how we fought until the end.”
“I liked everything about it,” Josh Anderson said. “How everybody was involved. We knew we had to get back to playing our standards, being smart and responsible in the defensive zone. Every guy on our team was going tonight. I loved our pack mentality. Nobody’s shy or scared to be pushed around. It certainly felt like a playoff game tonight. I loved how we competed all night.
“We’re a hard team to play against when we’re on,” he added. “It was nice to be a part of that game.”
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