{"id":439985,"date":"2026-02-01T15:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T15:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/439985\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T15:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T15:15:14","slug":"caufield-leads-canadiens-into-minnesota-to-face-guerin-wild-the-hockey-writers-montreal-canadiens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/439985\/","title":{"rendered":"Caufield Leads Canadiens into Minnesota to Face Guerin, Wild – The Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"

What a difference a week makes. At this time seven days ago, the Montreal Canadiens were licking their wounds after a 4-3 defeat<\/a> to the division-rival Boston Bruins<\/a> following two late goals against.<\/p>\n

It was their second straight crushing loss to an Atlantic team and fourth regulation loss to one in five tries since the start of the calendar year, with the fifth ending up an overtime victory in which they just barely scraped by against the Ottawa Senators. As far New Year\u2019s resolutions go<\/a>, they Canadiens probably could have thought up better. So, good on them for approaching the situation from a different angle and playing a goalie who\u2019s actually been winning consistently in Jakub Dobes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related: Canadiens, Dobes Face Avalanche with Point to Prove<\/a><\/p>\n

Since that Bruins loss, with Dobes in net the Canadiens have beaten the Pacific-leading Vegas Golden Knights, the Central- (and league-) leading Colorado Avalanche, and arguably the hottest team in the NHL right now in the Buffalo Sabres, against whom two of those four Atlantic losses came\u2026 with the Habs scoring two late goals (and an empty-netter) of their own to overcome a third-period deficit.<\/p>\n

Caufield Goes Streaking<\/p>\n

Really, about the only thing that hasn\u2019t changed in a week? Canadiens forward Cole Caufield<\/a>, who scored the two aforementioned goals against the Sabres. That gives him 11 goals in his last eight games (not a typo), which included a seven-game goal streak that coincidentally also started against the Sabres, in one of the aforementioned Atlantic losses, on Jan. 15. That means, Caufield has been raging for literally a half-month, just to put it in terms for everyone to understand the significance of what he\u2019s in the midst of accomplishing, as he\u2019s climbed into third place in the NHL scoring race with 32 total.<\/p>\n

\"ColeMontreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield \u2013 (Amy Irvin<\/a> \/ The Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n

Ironically, the only game during that stretch in which Caufield didn\u2019t score was against the Avalanche, when the Canadiens put up seven in a 7-3 win to avenge a 7-2 rout in November. That win, over the behemoth Avs, has also ironically been the only victory of five in that stretch by more than a goal (excluding the empty-netter against the Sabres yesterday). And, in three of those five wins, Caufield has been the difference<\/a>, scoring the game-winning goals (to co-lead the league with eight), all in dramatic fashion.<\/p>\n

Caufield Leads Canadiens Past Wild the First Time<\/p>\n

For example, on Jan. 20 against the Minnesota Wild<\/a>, Caufield broke a 3-3 tie with 15 seconds left to send general manager Bill Guerin\u2019s team packing without a single point. That goal was especially significant, because Guerin, who also manages the U.S. Olympic team<\/a>, had left both Caufield and teammate Lane Hutson off the roster to start the year. Since that point, both players have been on relative tears, with Caufield obviously grabbing the bigger headlines recently for his heroics.<\/p>\n

So, with two contests left before the Olympic break, one has to like the Canadiens\u2019 chances as they continue their current three-game road trip with a match-up in Minnesota. It would be easy, understandable even, for the Habs to take their collective foot off the pedal after such an emotional week, which probably has them high on cloud nine. They\u2019re also facing two non-Eastern teams in the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 4 and, up next on Feb. 2, the Wild. So, there\u2019s less pressure. And yet the Wild arguably represent the perfect opponents for the Habs, who can\u2019t afford to take a night off and give points away playing in such a tight division, as things wind down for literally three weeks.<\/p>\n

After all, Caufield and Hutson still have points to prove. You maybe wouldn\u2019t think so, with the last game against the Wild ending how it did and Hutson scoring earlier in the game and adding an assist on Caufield\u2019s game-winner, but the U.S. team literally passed Hutson over for Anaheim Duck Jackson Lacombe<\/a> as an injury replacement for Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones, a day later.<\/p>\n

With the Wild having won five straight since their last-minute loss to the Canadiens, both teams are peaking\u2026 maybe at the wrong time with the Olympics just ahead. However, the Habs, who probably deserved a better fate against the Bruins, went a deserving 10-6 in January. They\u2019ve established themselves as a playoff-calibre team at this point. They may not officially be a playoff team, but, one year after surprisingly making them in the middle of a rebuild, they\u2019ve proven the success they enjoyed, from the point at which they climbed out of the Eastern Conference basement starting Dec. 3, 2024, playing .621 hockey the rest of the way to clinch a berth, was no fluke.<\/p>\n

Canadiens, Caufield Have No Time to Waste<\/p>\n

Currently at 31-17-7 (.627), the Canadiens are in third place in the Atlantic, one point back of the Detroit Red Wings for second with one game in hand. They\u2019re also a single point up on the Sabres, who have one game in hand themselves, and Bruins, who hold the second Eastern wild-card spot. The Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves six points back of the Bruins, 54 games played to the latter\u2019s 55, for that last playoff spot, meaning there is significant separation between the teams on the outside looking in and those currently holding down spots, putting the Habs in a good position.<\/p>\n

\"SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/p>\n

They fortified that positioning by avoiding a three-game sweep in as many weeks at the hands of the Sabres, who, since Dec. 9, are 20-4-1 (.820), and effectively this season\u2019s Canadiens. Any debate as to which team is further along in their respective rebuilds and, well, better for all intents and purposes, is irrelevant at this juncture, though. Their season series, knotted at two wins apiece, each game decided by two goals, whatever that\u2019s worth, is over and the Habs must move on. As much as they may have assuaged concerns of a free fall down the standings with their recent play, there is still a lot of hockey left, even before the Olympics, even if it is officially just two games.<\/p>\n

Just look at how much of a difference three just made. Credit largely goes to Dobes for the turnaround, but, in a season during which the Canadiens are getting by with average goaltending, it\u2019s their fourth-ranked 3.44 goals per game that is leading the charge, Caufield now just eight away from giving the Habs their first 40-goal scorer since 1993-94.<\/p>\n

For the record, Caufield is on pace for 48 overall. So, if he\u2019s to reach an even more significant milestone, every single game counts\u2026 starting against the Wild.<\/p>\n

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