The Montreal Canadiens managed to best the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, in a game that oddsmakers heavily favoured the Florida men to win. They relied on a variety of scorers to get the job done, but a certain rookie once again made his presence felt on the scoreboard.
Cole Caufield won’t win the Calder trophy this year, but his performance against the Lightning showed once more why people believed he might.
Even as a die-hard Habs fan, if I had a vote in the Calder race, I’d give it to Moritz Seider. Caufield’s point pace since the coaching chance in Montreal might vault him into the conversation, but there just isn’t enough time for that to put him ahead of Seider.
The scoring just came on a little later than he needed in order to make a Calder win realistic. Some have suggested that Caufield is shooting too high for his own good, but how can you blame him when he’s pulling off goals like this:
Cole Caufield finishes off the 2-on-0 with an absolute roof job on Brian Elliott pic.twitter.com/ZDQp2dru1S
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) April 3, 2022
He has 14 goals since Martin St. Louis took over the bench, and many have looked like this one. Though the Calder trophy may be out of reach at this stage, he’s playing like he has something to prove, and giving Habs fans hope for the future with every bar-down marker he can provide.
He won’t win the Calder this year, but his resurgence this season might be enough to make him a finalist. Even that would be a feat considering how tough his season was in the early goings.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available on your podcast platform of choice. Next up we have the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, April 5.
Podcast Highlights
Suzuki magic in the shootout
Filthy mitts from Nick Suzuki on the shootout winner pic.twitter.com/q4mNF1M3IQ
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) April 3, 2022
Ryan Poehling’s absurd pass
Beautiful passing play between Tyler Pitlick and Ryan Poehling, and a great finish by Jesse Ylönen! pic.twitter.com/9FrgPJjEU6
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) April 3, 2022
What is goaltender interference, anyways?
HOW IS THIS NOT GOALTENDER INTERFERENCE pic.twitter.com/WutK5w9nZU
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) April 2, 2022
