Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield scored his 50th goal of the season on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Bell Centre.
He beat Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot in the second period, becoming the first Canadiens player to reach the 50-goal mark in a single season since 1990.
The Bell Centre erupted in pandemonium as fans celebrated the historic milestone, with the crowd going wild for the young sniper. Cole’s dad, Paul Caufield, had an emotional, raw reaction while watching from the stands.
Watch the video below:
Caufield was honored with a lengthy standing ovation after being announced as the first star of the matchup. The 25-year-old increased his season tally to 87 points in 78 games.
Cole Caufield scores his 50th as the Canadiens down Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1
On Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 at Bell Centre Arena. The Habs improved to 47-22-10, sitting second in the Atlantic Division.
Cole Caufield opened the scoring for the Habs after putting them ahead 1-0 at 6:30 of the second period. Darren Raddysh tied it 1-1 for the Bolts late in the third period. Juraj Slafkovsky scored the winner for the Canadiens at 18:56 of the final period.
Jacob Dobes was solid between the sticks, making 17 saves and posting a .944 save percentage. Caufield shared his thoughts post-game on whether Nathan MacKinnon is on his mind, as the Avs captain leads him by one goal as the leading scorer:
“We’re focused on our team game and winning games and I think individual stuff comes with that,” Cole Caufield said Thursday when asked if catching MacKinnon was on his mind. “Obviously, it helps when you’re winning games, but you’d be crazy not to know what’s going on around the league.
Captain Nick Suzuki had some praise for Caufield ahead of Thursday’s game:
“He’s on a tremendous heater right now,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said after Caufield potted goals 48 and 49 against the New York Rangers last Thursday. “Playing the right way, doing the right things and getting rewarded for it.”
The Montreal Canadiens host the Columbus Blue Jackets at Centre Bell Arena next on Saturday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.
Edited by Abhishek Dilta
