close
close

Canadiens Sniper Caufield ended his season on the right foot

Posted on by Neons

The Montreal Canadiens were in Ottawa on Saturday night to take on the perennially struggling Senators. It was a battle of two teams with not much left to play for but pride.

Oh, and even if they'll never admit it, there was an advantage for the losing team because they would have gone a long way in improving their draft lottery chances.

The Canadiens scored four different goals en route to a 5-4 series loss.

Let's focus on those important moments!

Magic Mike

There's no doubt that Mike Matheson's game includes highs and lows. For every three great plays, he tends to make a very difficult transition. But his P.K. There's also something to be said for being the first defenseman since Subban to score 60 points for the Montreal Canadiens.

Not to mention his salary is just under $5 million, making him one of the best defensemen in the NHL in terms of production. If fans expect the perfect player, they should look at the names ahead of Matheson in the defenseman scoring race and refer to their salary caps.

It may not matter to some, but Matheson is also one of the most exciting players in the organization, as evidenced by his many key plays this season, including the shorthanded goal that opened the scoring on Saturday night.

Brady Tkachuk tied the game in moments, the first of two occasions he beat the Canadiens. That gave Habs forward Cole Caufield a chance to shine, and he did just that, starting with an unusual goal to restore the team's one-goal lead.

Caufield scored his 27th goal of the season, a powerful shot that kept Senators goalie Joonas Korpisalo from making a save.

While we're used to seeing Caulfield score in these situations, it's worth noting that he's strayed from his predictable shooting range. Full credit to Caufield for changing his attempt to find his scoring rhythm. On that note, his second goal against Ottawa was an encouraging sign that the sniper has regained much of the confidence he lost during a difficult season.

We should also discuss the concept that Caufield had a rough season. Sure, his shooting has been terrible, but he's closing in on 30 goals and also setting a career high in assists. In addition, he exceeded the 60-point mark.

As terrible seasons go, this was pretty good.

Deciding to play

They don't ask how, only how much.

Well, to be honest, they often ask how, but that's not relevant to our topic at the moment.

Alex Newhook scored late in the third period when his pass bounced off a Senators defender and failed to find the back of the net.

It was Newhoek's 13th goal of the year, which saw him join a new team and miss a significant portion of the season with a foot injury.

The Montreal Canadiens return to action on Monday. They face the Detroit Red Wings with a tip-off scheduled for 7:00 PM ET. All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5 unless otherwise noted by Natural Stat Trick.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *