The Montreal Canadiens took a major step forward in their upward trajectory this past season with an appearance in the eastern conference finals. Their season came to an end in round three courtesy of the Carolina Hurricanes.
The third round was a struggle for this young team, facing off against a more experienced Carolina playoff squad that has faced these moments before. Montreal struggled to find offense throughout the series, especially from their elite first line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky that otherwise performed well throughout the season.
The Canadiens top goal scorer, Caufield, in particular struggled in the postseason. After a regular season that saw the American sniper amass 51 goals and 37 assists for 88 points in 81 games; he regressed in the playoffs with just six goals and seven assists in 19 games.
Caufield Speaks About his Playoff Run
In Montreal’s end of season presser today, Caufield was brutally honest upon reflection of his performance in the playoffs. In his interview, he bluntly stated: “Honestly, I sucked. That’s just plain and simple.”
Caufield’s playoff production did not amount to the high expectations placed on him heading into the postseason. He played a major factor to the surging Canadiens success with his impressive goal scoring ability. Only the Colorado Avalanche‘s Nathan MacKinnon recorded more goals over the duration of this latest campaign than Caufield.
With that being said, Caufield’s run in the playoffs was not good enough for his or the team’s standards. And he knows it, having owned up to that fact in his interview. This is the accountability the Montreal brass should want to see from their star forward.
Caufield is still a young player, at just 25 years old. This was only the third taste of the playoffs for him in his still fresh career. With more reps in the postseason, he should get used to the differing style of play and adjust his game accordingly in the future.
Montreal will be Back in the Playoffs
There is no doubt this Montreal team has a bright future based on their rapid rise in the standings over these past few seasons. They have a solid youth core to build around that should keep them in the mix for a long time.
With respects to the forward core, the Canadiens have a formidable formation to work with. Caufield will continued to be relied upon when it comes to driving the offense. He will get more cracks of playoff hockey with this group and hope for greater results moving forward. Montreal has a strong defense at their disposal as well with Calder-winning phenom Lane Hutson leading the charge from the blueline.
Montreal at the moment looks to be the Canadian franchise with the best hopes of breaking Canada’s long Stanley Cup drought with this promising team they have assembled. That streak dates back to 1993, with the Canadiens being the last franchise north of the border to get the job done in the playoffs. The “Habs” faithful will be hoping for another postseason break through soon.
Canadiens’ Cole Caufield Gets Brutally Honest on Playoff Struggle