After scoring a team-leading 51 goals this season, it was expected that Canadiens right-winger Cole Caufield would be a marked man in the playoffs.
And, while Caufield had a respectable six goals and seven assists in 19 post-season games, he was the first to admit it wasn’t up to his lofty standards.
“Obviously, I sucked. That’s just plain and simple,” Caufield said on Monday, during the Canadiens’ season-ending media availability in Brossard. “I’ve got to be a lot better. I expect a lot more out of myself. My teammates and coaches do, too. I think there’s a lot more out there. I’m nowhere near satisfied with how that went.
“I’ve got to be a lot better,” Canadiens right-winger Cole Caufield says of his playoff struggles. “I expect a lot more out of myself.” Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette
“I can be a lot better,” he added. “There’s a long way to go. Obviously, I need to be better and expect a lot more from myself. There will be a better version of myself next year.”
Caufield became the first Canadiens player in 36 years when he scored against Tampa Bay on April 9 — with three games remaining — during a 2-1 victory. Caufield had been stuck on 49 goals for three games at the time. And, just for good measure, he scored his 51st against Columbus in the next game.
He became the first Montreal player to accomplish the feat since Stéphane Richer, who also scored 51 during the 1989-90 season.
But the 5-foot-8, 175-pound Caufield found life, and open ice, more difficult to come by in the playoffs. He didn’t score his first goal until Game 4 of the opening round against the Lightning. While Caufield scored in three consecutive games against Buffalo in the next round, Carolina was able to contain him in the Eastern Conference final.
Caufield scored twice and added two assists in the five-game series. Those goals came in Game 1 — the Canadiens’ only victory — and the final contest, when his meaningless power-play goal in the third period put a small dent in the Hurricanes’ 5-0 lead. Carolina added a late empty-net goal, eliminating Montreal.
“You work your ass off every game,” Caufield said. “You’re trying to do all the right things. It’s just how it is. It’s a challenge every time you step on the ice in the playoffs. It just shows there’s a lot more to go. You take a lot of learning things from that series. It’s fuel for the fire for next year.”
The Canadiens thought they had taken a third-period lead in Game 3 against Carolina on a goal by Noah Dobson at 8:28. It would have provided Montreal with a 3-2 lead and potentially a 2-1 lead in the series.
But after a challenge by Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour and subsequent video review, it was determined Caufield was offside on the play. The Canadiens ended up losing 3-2 in overtime. But Caufield believed it would have been moot in the long run.
Canadiens winger Cole Caufield carries the puck toward the Carolina Hurricanes’ blue line between Mark Jankowski, left, and Eric Robinson during third period of Game 3 in Montreal on May 25. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
“We lost, and it wasn’t really that close,” he said. “Obviously, they took care of business early on in the playoffs. We had times to create an easier series. We didn’t do that. They kind of dominated us. That’s pretty obvious.
“You saw that the first two rounds. They played their game to the best of their abilities, and they’ve been doing it for a long time. There’s a reason they’ve been in that situation a bunch of times these past couple of years. Credit to them for how dialed in they’ve been. They’re a well-coached team. They’re professional. They’re just a really good team.”
In Season 4 of the Canadiens’ rebuild, the team exceeded expectations, finishing third in the Atlantic Division with 106 points before upsetting Tampa Bay and Buffalo in the opening two rounds — although Montreal needed Game 7 victories on the road both times.
It now behooves the Canadiens to take the next step in the team’s ascendancy — arguably in the NHL’s toughest division, where Florida, Detroit and Toronto all missed the playoffs.
“It’s obviously not easy, and we ran into a really good team,” Caufield said. “Obviously, things didn’t go our way, and we have a lot more work to do. We’re not satisfied with anything that happened this year. I think guys learned a lot — but there’s a long way to go. We expect more from ourselves and demand that, too. There’s a long way to go. We can only get better, but it wasn’t good enough at all.
“I think we have the right recipe. This just shows how good the league is. Every year, you get reminded. You get humbled.”
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
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