Cole Caufield Ignites Canadiens’ Surge as Montreal Hits Its Stride Before Olympic Break
What a difference a week can make in the NHL. Just seven days ago, the Montreal Canadiens were reeling from a tough 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins-one that stung not just because it was a rivalry game, but because it marked their second straight late-game collapse against an Atlantic Division opponent.
That loss capped a stretch of four regulation defeats in five divisional matchups to start the new year. It felt like the Habs were stuck in neutral, searching for answers.
Well, they may have found one in netminder Jakub Dobes.
Since that loss to Boston, Montreal has flipped the script-beating three of the league’s top teams in rapid succession. First, they took down the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.
Then came a statement win over the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche. And finally, they outlasted the red-hot Buffalo Sabres, a team that had handed them two of those recent Atlantic losses.
In that one, it was the Canadiens who flipped the narrative-scoring two clutch goals late in the third, plus an empty-netter, to seal the deal.
Caufield’s Scoring Tear Reaches New Heights
While the team’s overall performance has surged, Cole Caufield has been on another planet. The dynamic winger netted two goals in that comeback win over Buffalo, bringing his total to a staggering 11 goals in his last eight games.
That’s not a typo. Caufield is on a heater, and it’s not just a hot streak-it’s a full-on takeover.
The run includes a seven-game goal streak that started back on January 15-also against the Sabres. Since then, he’s climbed to third in the NHL goal-scoring race with 32 tallies.
And while he was held off the scoresheet in the rout of Colorado (a 7-3 win that avenged an earlier 7-2 loss to the Avs), Caufield has been the difference-maker in three of Montreal’s last five victories, scoring the game-winner in each of those contests. That has him tied for the league lead with eight game-winning goals.
And he’s not just scoring-he’s delivering in the biggest moments.
Clutch in the Clutch: Caufield Sinks the Wild
Take January 20 against the Minnesota Wild. With just 15 seconds left in a 3-3 game, Caufield buried the winner, sending the Wild home empty-handed.
That goal carried a little extra weight, too. Minnesota GM Bill Guerin, who also oversees the U.S.
Olympic roster, had left both Caufield and Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson off the team to start the year. Since then, both players have responded in a big way-none more dramatically than Caufield.
Hutson, for his part, had a goal and an assist in that same game, including the primary helper on Caufield’s dagger. Yet even after that performance, the U.S. team passed over Hutson again-this time as an injury replacement-choosing Anaheim’s Jackson Lacombe instead. Whether that decision adds more fuel to the fire remains to be seen, but it’s clear both players are playing with something to prove.
No Time to Let Up
Now, with just two games left before the Olympic break, the Canadiens are heading back to Minnesota for a rematch with the Wild, followed by a visit to Winnipeg to face the Jets. On paper, these are non-conference matchups with less direct playoff impact-but don’t expect Montreal to ease up. In a jam-packed Atlantic Division race, every point matters.
And the Wild? They’ve ripped off five straight wins since that last-second loss to the Habs.
So this isn’t a team Montreal can afford to overlook. Especially not now.
The Canadiens are firmly in the playoff conversation, but the margin for error is razor-thin.
At 31-17-7 (.627), Montreal sits third in the Atlantic, just a point behind the Detroit Red Wings for second place-and with a game in hand. They’re also one point ahead of both the Sabres and Bruins, with Buffalo holding a game in hand and Boston clinging to the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot. The Columbus Blue Jackets, meanwhile, are six points back of the Bruins, which gives the Canadiens a bit of breathing room-but not much.
Montreal’s Identity Is Taking Shape
The win over Buffalo was particularly important-not just because it kept the Sabres from sweeping the Canadiens in three straight meetings, but because it served as a reminder that Montreal belongs in this playoff race. Since December 9, Buffalo has gone 20-4-1, playing at a blistering .820 clip. That’s the kind of run Montreal put together last season to claw out of the Eastern Conference basement and into the postseason.
This year, they’re proving it wasn’t a fluke. Montreal closed out January with a 10-6 record, and they’ve shown they can hang with the league’s elite.
The turnaround has been driven by timely goaltending-Dobes has been steady-but the real engine is the offense. The Canadiens are averaging 3.44 goals per game, fourth-best in the NHL, and Caufield is leading the charge.
He’s now just eight goals away from becoming Montreal’s first 40-goal scorer since the 1993-94 season. For a franchise with as much history as the Canadiens, that’s a long drought. Caufield is on pace for 48 goals, but with the Olympic break looming, every game counts if he’s going to hit that milestone-and possibly more.
Next Up: Wild Rematch
All eyes now turn to February 2, when the Canadiens face the Wild again-this time on the road. It’s the kind of game that could easily be overlooked in the schedule, but for Montreal, it’s another chance to prove they’re more than just a feel-good story mid-rebuild. They’re a team with playoff aspirations and a rising star in Caufield who’s making a serious case to be considered among the NHL’s elite.
The Canadiens are rolling. And with Caufield leading the way, they’re not just winning-they’re sending a message.