{"id":589947,"date":"2026-06-03T06:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T06:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/589947\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T06:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T06:03:19","slug":"i-sucked-canadiens-cole-caufield-says-of-playoff-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/589947\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I sucked,’ Canadiens’ Cole Caufield says of playoff performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

And, while Caufield had a respectable six goals and seven assists in 19 post-season games, he was the first to admit it wasn\u2019t up to his lofty standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I sucked. That\u2019s just plain and simple,\u201d Caufield said on Monday, during the Canadiens\u2019 season-ending media availability in Brossard. \u201cI\u2019ve got to be a lot better. I expect a lot more out of myself. My teammates and coaches do, too. I think there\u2019s a lot more out there. I\u2019m nowhere near satisfied with how that went.<\/p>\n

\""I've\u201cI\u2019ve got to be a lot better,\u201d Canadiens right-winger Cole Caufield says of his playoff struggles. \u201cI expect a lot more out of myself.\u201d Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\u201cI can be a lot better,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caufield became the first Canadiens player in 36 years to hit the magical 50-goal plateau<\/a> when he scored against Tampa Bay on April 9 \u2014\u00a0with three games remaining \u2014\u00a0during 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.<\/p>\n

He became the first Montreal player to accomplish the feat since St\u00e9phane Richer, who also scored 51 during the 1989-90 season. <\/p>\n

But the 5-foot-8, 175-pound Caufield found life, and open ice, more difficult to come by in the playoffs. He didn\u2019t score his first goal until Game 4 of the opening round<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Caufield scored twice and added two assists in the five-game series. Those goals came in Game 1 \u2014\u00a0the Canadiens\u2019 only victory \u2014\u00a0and the final contest, when his meaningless power-play goal in the third period<\/a> put a small dent in the Hurricanes\u2019 5-0 lead. Carolina added a late empty-net goal, eliminating Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou work your ass off every game,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to do all the right things. It\u2019s just how it is. It\u2019s a challenge every time you step on the ice in the playoffs. It just shows there\u2019s a lot more to go. You take a lot of learning things from that series. It\u2019s fuel for the fire for next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

But after a challenge by Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour 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.<\/p>\n

\"CanadiensCanadiens winger Cole Caufield carries the puck toward the Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 blue line between Mark Jankowski, left, and Eric Robinson during third period of Game 3 in Montreal on May 25. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost, and it wasn\u2019t really that close,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously, they took care of business early on in the playoffs. We had times to create an easier series. We didn\u2019t do that. They kind of dominated us. That\u2019s pretty obvious.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw that the first two rounds. They played their game to the best of their abilities, and they\u2019ve been doing it for a long time. There\u2019s a reason they\u2019ve been in that situation a bunch of times these past couple of years. Credit to them for how dialed in they\u2019ve been. They\u2019re a well-coached team. They\u2019re professional. They\u2019re just a really good team.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Season 4 of the Canadiens\u2019 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 \u2014\u00a0although Montreal needed Game 7 victories on the road both times.<\/p>\n

It now behooves the Canadiens to take the next step<\/a> in the team\u2019s ascendancy \u2014\u00a0arguably in the NHL\u2019s toughest division, where Florida, Detroit and Toronto all missed the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously not easy, and we ran into a really good team,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cObviously, things didn\u2019t go our way, and we have a lot more work to do. We\u2019re not satisfied with anything that happened this year. I think guys learned a lot \u2014\u00a0but there\u2019s a long way to go. We expect more from ourselves and demand that, too. There\u2019s a long way to go. We can only get better, but it wasn\u2019t good enough at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have the right recipe. This just shows how good the league is. Every year, you get reminded. You get humbled.\u201d<\/p>\n

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com<\/p>\n

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