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Habs Highlights: Cole Caufield Is Mr. Saturday Night
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- Habs Highlights: Cole Caufield Is Mr. Saturday Night
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, hoping to rebound from a frustrating finish in their 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders earlier in the week.
Once again, Cole Caufield rose to the occasion, powering the Habs to a well-deserved 6-2 win.
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It should also be noted Jakub Dobes looked very good, stopping 29 of the 30 shots sent his way to secure the victory. There's no doubt about it, Dobes gives the Canadiens their best chance of winning games, an advantage that cannot be ignored down the final stretch of the season.
Let's dive into the highlights!
Mr. Saturday Night
This may sound like a rerun, but I promise it's simply a similar script.
Caufield drove the offensive charge on Saturday night, opening the scoring just 30 seconds into the first period. Not only did he strip Alex Ovechkin of the puck, he gave former Hab netminder Charlie Lindgren no chance, placing a perfect shot far side, slightly below his trapper.
And Again
Of course, we all know one goal will not quench Caufield's thirst when it comes to performing on Saturday night.
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He doubled his tally late in the first period, taking advantage of a loose puck near the goalmouth to score his 35th goal of the season.
We should probably give his teammates a little credit, but there's time for that from Sunday to Friday night, exclusively. Saturday is reserved for Caufield praise, first and foremost.
Math Man +1
Rather than sitting on their laurels, the Canadiens decided to press their advantage, resulting in a very nice goal by defenceman Mike Matheson .
Full credit to Zachary Bolduc and Alex Newhook for setting up the play, with a particular stick tap going out to Newhook's ability to generate controlled entries with his blazing speed.
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All things considered, Newhook doesn't look like a player who just recovered from an ankle injury that forced him to miss a significant portion of the season. There's still plenty of hockey left to play, but it's incredibly encouraging to see him hit the ground running upon his return to the lineup.
First Line Impact
Kirby Dach has also put together relatively strong performances since recovering from his latest injury.
His shot late in the second period to give the Canadiens a 4-1 lead was one of the nicest, and cleanest releases we've seen from the 25-year-old since he joined the organization a few years ago. The play also featured one of Nick Suzuki 's three points on the night.
In the long run, it wasn't enough to save the day for the Capitals, but we do have to give credit to Ovechkin for scoring a pair of goals. It should come as no surprise, seeing as Ovechkin has terrorized Montreal throughout his entire career. He has now scored 44 goals and 32 assists in just 63 games against the Habs.
The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Tuesday, facing the Sharks in San Jose. The puck drop is scheduled for 10 pm ET.
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All Montreal Canadiens statistics 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick .
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