Canadiens’ Cole Caufield becomes first Hab in 36 years to score 50 goals
Canadiens forward Cole Caufield has hit the 50-goal plateau.
Caufield accomplished the feat Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Centre. He beat goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy at 6:30 of the second period.
The 25-year-old is the first Canadiens player to attain the mark since Stéphane Richer scored 51 during the 1989-90 season.
Entering the game, Caufield was second in league goal-scoring, behind only Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon.
Although it took until Thursday on home ice for Caufield to score his 50th, the forward’s goal-scoring exploits on Saturday nights this season have earned him the nickname Mr. Saturday Night. On that particular night of the week, Caufield has lit the lamp 20 times in 22 contests.
When asked if there was something special about Saturday night for him, Caufield told The Gazette’s Stu Cowan: “No. My life, pretty much every day is Saturday.”
He scored his 48th and 49th goals of the season in a 3-2 Canadiens win over the New York Rangers a week ago.
Last week, the Stevens Point, Wis., native also reached the 300-point mark in his NHL career.
On March 17 at the Bell Centre, Caufield became the first Canadiens player since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94 to score 40 goals when he tallied in overtime in a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.
Since joining the NHL during the 2020-21 season, Caufield had 167 goals and 305 points in 364 games before Thursday’s contest.
Caufield was drafted by the Canadiens with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
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