Habs Highlights: Amazing Caufield Goal, Beck First NHL Point

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, looking to build on the momentum they established in big wins against the Ottawa Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes.

A lot like the author of this instant recap, it wasn’t pretty by any means, but they still managed to emerge with a 4-3 overtime win.

For the view from the other side of the rink, make sure to visit our sister site, San Jose Hockey Now.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Damn The Torpedoes!

The Jayden Struble and Lane Huston pairing is interesting, as they both bring complementary tools to the mix, but it’s also at risk of being exposed by some of the more talented players in the league, due to their lack of experience.

Neither looked particularly great when Fabian Zetterlund opened the scoring, which to be expected every once in a while. The good news is that it didn’t take either very long to contribute from an offensive standpoint.

The first goal for the Canadiens featured great work by Juraj Slafkovsky in the neutral zone. It wasn’t a takeaway per se, but his staunch defending and solid defensive positioning forced as turnover, giving Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki all the time necessary to tie the game. Beyond the strong defensive play, Slafkovsky was generating controlled entries all night long, and that’s the most obvious sign he’s playing with confidence.

Smooth like a fresh jar of skippy. Caufield to Suzuki, tie game. #GoHabsGo

Good work by Slafkovsky in the NZ before the turnover. pic.twitter.com/2bbrDJZBT3

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 28, 2025

The second game-tying goal from Suzuki was assisted by both Struble and Hutson, though we also have to give Georgiev a little credit for making life easy on the Canadiens captain. Regardless of the stumble by the goaltender, it’s rather impressive that Suzuki managed to create so much space in a high-traffic area.

The quick separation between himself and Marc-Edouard  Vlasic is what allowed Suzuki to establish a shooting opportunity in the first place. It’s not a jaw-dropping play by any means, but it does speak to Suzuki’s cerebral approach to hockey.

It should be noted Huston registered his 40th assist of the season on the play, making him the first rookie defenceman to do so in 60 or fewer games since one of the best blue liners of all time, Nicklas Lidstrom.

It should also be noted that’s the 523rd time this year that we’ve seen Hutson join some of the best defencemen of all time via a rookie record.

Nick Suzuki scores his second goal of the game to once again tie it up. Georgiev lost his balance. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/3WIRFkoIhp

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 28, 2025

Mr. Anderson

Josh Anderson had to return to the locker room in the second period after he collided violently with the boards, but there’s no doubt he was already playing injured prior to the incident.

There’s no doubt Anderson received a heavy dose of criticism in recent years, and it’s quite apparent he’s doing his best to prove everyone wrong. Reinventing yourself as an NHL veteran is never easy, and he deserves credit for his hard work.

But at this point, there has to be some concern about his long-term health. It’s entertaining to see him out there doing his best Black Knight and Scott Sterling crossover episode, but I genuinely hope he’s not feeling any pressure to put his health at risk.

No one has, and no one will ever question Anderson’s heart.

Peaks and Valleys

I’d have to actually do a little homework before declaring the Canadiens the type of team that plays up or down to their opponents, but it really does feel like they tend to play better against top teams, while slowing down against teams that are set to draft in the top 10.

Thursday was a good example. Montreal did not play poorly, but they were responding to San Jose’s play rather than dictating the pace. The good news is the Habs did indeed respond quickly to every Sharks goal, including the third goal of the game, which ended up being Owen Beck’s first NHL point.

In classic Beckian fashion, he drove the puck down low, absorbed the hit, and then outworked his opponent, which led to Patrik Laine’s assist, as well as Alex Newhook’s goal.

I know that I tend to wax poetic whenever Beck is involved, but there’s no denying he immediately adds an important dose of energy to the mix whenever he jumps on the ice. I also don’t want to denigrate Dach, but the second line has looked much healthier since Beck replaced him. That being said, the underlying numbers aren’t great, at least not yet, so it’s a little early to take a celebration lap.

As an aside, Laine is good at making space for himself, but not so much when it comes to capitalizing on open ice created by his teammates. It was good to see him jump into the play and build on his team’s momentum rather than trying to do everything on his own.

Owen Beck’s first NHL point!

He drives the net, takes the hit, outworks his opponent.

Classic Beck.

Newhook with the goal, Laine with the other assist. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/okw8iOp4hb

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 28, 2025

Montreal Canadiens Cole Train

The first line really did put their mark on the game, culminating with Caufield’s unbelievable goal in overtime, which featured him dancing around Macklin Celebrini before he tucked the puck behind Georgiev.

WHAT A GOAL!

Cole Caufield burns Celebrini before scoring an amazing overtime goal. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/YVu1Xb6p2h

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 28, 2025

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday. They will face the Sabres in Buffalo, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.