Habs Highlights: Cole Caufield Is Red Hot, One Point Secured

The Montreal Canadiens were in Edmonton on Thursday, looking to extend their winning streak to a season-high six games.

The Oilers are always a difficult opponent, but they haven’t been playing their best hockey of late, while the Canadiens have been receiving a consistent flow of offence from Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky on the first line.

The first line did its part, but the Oilers were too much to handle, prevailing 3-2 in overtime.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

It’s Going To Be a Long Night

Corey Perry opened the scoring midway through the first period, and I have to say it’s always a pleasure to watch him play. His legs retired a season or two ago, but he still has the same hands that won the Hart Trophy, which means he ends up playing shinny versus NHL players.

And yet, he still manages to score goals.

I wish him nothing but the best as he once again loses to the eventually Stanley Cup winners this year.

The play featured a lot of bad reads by the Habs, including Jayden Struble’s defensive coverage, and Samuel Montembeault’s slow reaction, but it was all kicked off by a terrible Patrick Laine pass in the offensive zone. It was truly a team effort.

The good news for the Canadiens is that they responded, and while Brendan Gallagher won’t get credit for the team’s first goal, it was his fantastic effort on the penalty kill that swung the momentum to Montreal’s side. Say what you will about the 32-year-old forward, but he burns more calories in one night than most swim teams do in a week.

It was Cole Caufield who ended up tying the game for the Canadiens, extending his goal-scoring streak to four games in the process. His 31st goal of the year was the epitome of an individual effort, and yet more evidence that the American sniper is clearly in the zone at the moment. With the goal, Caufield joined Leon Draisaitl as the only other player to score 20 or more even-strength goals, as well as 10 or more powerplay goals.

Another great play by Cole Caufield!

He intercepts the puck, burns the defence, gets a shot off, then grabs the rebound to score his 31st goal.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/1Hu1DeAzHL

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 7, 2025

Give And Go

Draisaitl did not waste any time making the Canadiens pay for their lack of discipline, scoring his league-leading 46th goal of the year via a ridiculous release on the powerplay while Montembeault was screened.

Having that type of player in a lineup is what I call game-changing talent.

Speaking of game-changing talent, rookie Lane Hutson made his mark on the game midway through the second period, drawing most of the Oilers’ attention as he streaked into the offensive zone.

Joel Armia then capitalized on the available ice, as well as Hutson’s great pass, to score his 11th goal of the year, his first since February 4.

Bruno Gervais explained that Hutson took the NHL lead in end-to-end rushes with the play, passing Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar in the process. I can’t remember, have those two ever won a trophy in the NHL?

Lane Hutson draws the attention and then sets up Joel Armia perfectly. AS is tradition.

Hutson’s 45th assist!!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ry2ncADiMG

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 7, 2025

Hutson was then bailed out by Mattias Janmark, who completely whiffed on his shorthanded breakaway attempt after he stripped the puck from No.48.

Such is life with a high-risk, high-reward defenceman.

The beautiful game. pic.twitter.com/wLdEuqwbFk

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 7, 2025

To The Wire

The Oilers held a significant edge in shot attempts at 5v5 (60 percent), however, the discrepancy in high-danger chances was not as drastic, with Edmonton leading 6-5 midway through the third period.

This gave the Canadiens an opportunity to win a crucial, late-season game in the Eastern Conference playoff race, which is a sentence that has not been typed in a very long time. It was particularly important on Thursday night, as all the teams competing with the Habs for the Wild Card spot in the East lost their respective games.

I’d go as far as suggesting the Canadiens look very relaxed on the ice, unlike many of their opponents. They’re not exactly playing with house money, per se, but they’re clearly not gripping their sticks as tightly as other teams that are in a playoff race.

The Oilers ended up securing a 3-2 win with just a few seconds left in overtime, but all things considered, it was far from Montreal’s worst result of the year, as they added another precious point to the bank.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action Saturday. They are facing the Flames in Calgary, with the puck drop set for 7 pm ET. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.