Caufield ‘has got a ton of swagger’
MONTREAL — When Vegas goaltender Robin Lehner talked about stopping Cole Caufield on a breakaway in Game 4 Sunday, he said he was expecting the rookie to test him between the pads because the Golden Knights had done a good scouting job of identifying Caufield’s tendencies.
But all the scouting in the world couldn’t help MarcAndré Fleury Tuesday night as Caufield took a drop pass from Corey Perry and beat the veteran goaltender with a one-timer that found the top corner.
“Kid’s got a ton of swagger. He knows he’s a scorer,” said linemate Nick Suzuki. “Maybe they are trying to get in his head but he’s going to shoot any time it’s open, he’s been doing it his whole life.”
It should be noted that Suzuki, who had a goal and two assists, is 21 and “the kid” is 20.
The Caufield goal gave the Canadiens a 3-0 lead and they went on to beat the Golden Knights 4-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the best of-seven series. They have a chance to reach the Stanley Cup final with a win in Game 6 at the Bell Centre tonight.
The Canadiens are doing their best to prolong the season long enough for Dominique Ducharme to return from his COVID-19 confinement, but acting head coach Luke Richardson said there’s still work to be done.
“We’re going in the right direction, but we’re not there yet, so we just got to make sure that’s understood; how much work it took tonight to win that game and put us in this position,” said Richardson. “We have to take the next step to make sure we get to where we want to go.”
It was the third goal in the playoffs for Caufield, who has also collected five assists.
“(Caufield) has been playing great hockey,” added Suzuki. “He was a little disappointed that he didn’t get to start against the Leafs, but he’s handled that well. He’s played a big role for us and he got rewarded with that goal.”
Suzuki assisted on what proved to be the gamewinning goal, setting up 36-year-old Eric Staal. The young centre was at the end of a long shift but he decided to push the play rather than dump the puck in and head for the bench.
“I thought I had good speed down the wall and I drew two guys toward me,” said Suzuki. “I thought when I got down in the corner someone was going to be coming late and (Staal) was in a great spot and he made a great shot, too.”
Suzuki’s fifth goal of the playoffs went into an empty net, but it was significant because it was his first goal against the team that drafted him in 2017.
“I thought we played a great 60 minutes,” said Suzuki. “Even after they scored their goal, we responded well. We stayed under control. They had their chances but we played a great team game. All four lines were contributing and that’s the way we have to play the next game.”
“Nick is sneaky strong and sly,” said Richardson. “He’s a big body; he’s a lot bigger than you think.”
Suzuki and Caufield weren’t the only youngsters to step up. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who is a three-year veteran at age 20, opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the playoffs.
Kotkaniemi is the third centre to score nine playoff goals before his 21st birthday. The other two players to accomplish that feat are Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky.
Richardson began his post-game remarks by paying tribute to Tom Kurvers, who died this week at age 58. Richardson and Kurvers were teammates with the Maple Leafs and Kurvers was part of the Canadiens Stanley Cup team in 1986.