Cole Caufield has gone three games without scoring, but the Montreal winger gets another crack at a piece of Canadiens history Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Centre.
He remained at 49 goals, with four games remaining beginning with the 7 p.m. matchup. If Caufield scores again, he would become the first Canadiens player since Stéphane Richer in 1990 to reach 50 goals in a season.
The chase has been built on a blistering run. Caufield scored five goals in four games to reach 49 before last Saturday’s game at New Jersey, then added two assists in Montreal’s 4-3 shootout victory. He did not score in regulation despite five shots. In the rematch 24 hours later, he had three shots and four misses.
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That has not changed the mood around him inside the dressing room. Josh Anderson said he is not worried that Caufield will never score again and noted he has had about 50 chances. Brendan Gallagher called him the best goal-scorer in the Canadiens’ locker room and said there is no point forcing it. Gallagher said Caufield knows he is the team’s top finisher and that the only real task is to keep doing the same thing.
The timing gives the pursuit extra weight. Montreal clinched a playoff berth Sunday afternoon when Detroit lost to Minnesota, and the Canadiens were tied with Tampa Bay and Buffalo atop the Atlantic Division with 102 points heading into Wednesday’s games. Caufield also beat Florida goaltender Daniil Tarasov in the opening round of the shootout Tuesday, another sign that the offense has not dried up even if the goals have paused.
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The next step is plain enough: with four games left, Montreal will keep looking for a goal that would put Caufield in a class the Canadiens have not seen in 35 years. The longer it waits, the more the milestone starts to feel like the kind of mark that can lift a late-season race into something remembered.
