If anyone still hasn\u2019t witnessed the moment, it occurred at 8:21 p.m., and the ovation wouldn\u2019t have ended had the officials not resumed the game as quickly as possible. <\/p>\n
Nick Suzuki fed Caufield in the right-wing circle, and the Canadiens\u2019 sniper beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to the stick side. It was Montreal\u2019s ninth shot of the game.<\/p>\n
Caufield had a team-leading five of the Canadiens\u2019 21 shots \u2014 four alone in the first period. He also had four missed shots and one attempt that was blocked. Caufield becomes the first Montreal player to score 50 goals in a season since St\u00e9phane Richer in 1990.<\/p>\n
![\"Hockey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0410-spt-habs_302507052.jpg\")
Canadiens\u2019 Ivan Demidov left, Alexandre Texier, Alex Newhook and Oliver Kapanen congratulate Cole Caufield after he scored his 50th goal of the season during the second period against the Tampa Bay lightning in Montreal on Thursday April 9, 2026. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
He said it: \u201cIt happened pretty quick and I couldn\u2019t have drawn it up in a better way,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cIt was cool having my dad in the building and seeing his reaction. It\u2019s pretty special and it means a lot. It\u2019s obviously a huge win for us and (a goal) that I\u2019ll always remember.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to lie. I was pretty stressed out the past couple of days,\u201d Caufield added. \u201cHonestly, it felt like it was never going to come there for a couple of days. Three games, but it felt like forever. I\u2019m just glad it\u2019s over with now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want it any other way,\u201d Caufield said. \u201cI was fortunate enough to go to the right place and the right team. Who knows where I\u2019d be at with a different team? I\u2019m very lucky and fortunate to accomplish this.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, wait, there\u2019s more: Juraj Slafkovsky<\/a> reached the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. It also happened to be the winning goal.<\/p>\n And we\u2019re not done yet: Suzuki drew assists on both goals. The Canadiens\u2019 captain now has 98 points this season with three games remaining. He has 28 goals and 70 assists. He becomes the highest-scoring Montreal captain in a single season.<\/p>\n Sieve of the night: While Vasilevskiy\u2019s save percentage was a commendable .905, he totally overplayed Caufield\u2019s shot and was badly out of position.<\/p>\n News you need (Part I): Not only did the Canadiens win for the 10th time in their last 11 games, they moved into second place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Tampa Bay. Buffalo shut out Columbus 5-0, and is first in the division, two points ahead of Montreal. Both the Canadiens and Lightning hold a game in hand on the Sabres. The Canadiens must complete the season with more points than Tampa Bay, based on regulation wins, to secure home-ice advantage in the opening-round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n Strange, but true: Caufield, who probably will go down as the greatest scorer in Canadiens\u2019 history when all is said and done, scored for only the second time in his career against Vasilevskiy.<\/p>\n And what a series it potentially will be: We\u2019re old enough to remember Original Six hockey, when teams and players hated each other. The Canadiens and Lightning combined for 126 penalty minutes, including seven 10-minute misconducts. Tampa Bay took 71 penalty minutes, increasing its league-leading total to 1,187. Should these teams meet again in slightly more than a week, the games might take four hours to be completed. But it will be glorious, in our humble opinion.<\/p>\n And this is why they\u2019re the NHL\u2019s most-penalized team: Less than four minutes into the game, Yanni Gourde started the penalty stream with a double high-sticking minor against .<\/p>\n Great moments in officiating (Part I): Arber Xhekaj shoved his glove in the face of the notorious Corey Perry<\/a> in the first period. Perry\u2019s head snapped back as if he had been shot. Xhekaj received a roughing minor. Perry could have been called for embellishment. Kudos to him.<\/p>\n Great moments in officiating (Part II): Ivan Demidov barely touched Declan Carlile with his stick in the same period,\u00a0but was assessed a high-sticking minor.<\/p>\n Game of inches: Both Suzuki and Slafkovsky hit the post late in the opening period.<\/p>\n Does he also do windows?: The Royal Rumble commenced early in the second period, with Struble against Emil Lilleberg. That resulted in seven minor penalties being assessed. Poor Lane Hutson was seen picking up his teammates\u2019 sticks.<\/p>\n News you need (Part II): The teams combined for 112 penalty minutes through two periods. That\u2019s the most in an NHL game this season following 40 minutes.<\/p>\n Coaches can show emotion, too: Jon Cooper, who has been behind the Lightning bench since March 2013, was seen pumping his first after Darren Raddysh tied the score with 1:51 remaining in regulation time.<\/p>\n No fist-pumping for you \u2026 one year: Only 47 seconds later, Slafkovsky scored the winning goal while being knocked down.<\/p>\n Pass of the night: Suzuki to Slafkovsky.<\/p>\n Next time, decline the penalty: Somehow, the Canadiens managed to go 0-for-7 on the power play. The Lightning wasn\u2019t much better, failing on four manpower advantages.<\/p>\n Quick stats: Slafkovsky had three shots. Kirby Dach had five hits, as did Joe Veleno<\/a>. Despite playing only 8:45, Xhekaj had four hits, as did Noah Dobson. Struble had five hits and blocked three shots. Jakub Dobes\u2019 save percentage was .944. He also won his seventh consecutive game<\/a>. The indefatigable Hutson played 29:17. Mike Matheson played 25:42, while Suzuki logged 22:25. The Canadiens won 52.4 per cent of their faceoffs and outhit the visitors 34-29.<\/p>\n They said it: \u201cIt was pretty special to see Cole score 50,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cNot a lot of guys in the history of the league have done it. It\u2019s pretty cool to be part of that goal. The last one was a big moment for (Slafkovsky), hitting another milestone.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth teams had the same thing in mind,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was physical. A lot of emotion. A lot of scrums. If we see them in the first round, a lot more of that to come. It should be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI like how we fought for each other,\u201d Slafkovsky said. \u201cI enjoyed this game. I\u2019m glad (Caufield) finally has it. Hopefully, he can get a couple more. I like how we fought until the end.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI liked everything about it,\u201d Josh Anderson said. \u201cHow everybody was involved. We knew we had to get back to playing our standards, being smart and responsible in the defensive zone. Every guy on our team was going tonight. I loved our pack mentality. Nobody\u2019s shy or scared to be pushed around. It certainly felt like a playoff game tonight. I loved how we competed all night.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a hard team to play against when we\u2019re on,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was nice to be a part of that game.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Hockey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0410-spt-habs_302507952.jpg\")
Canadiens\u2019 Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield join Juraj Slafkovsky after he scored the winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n![\"Hockey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0410-spt-habs_302507586.jpg\")
Canadiens\u2019 Jayden Struble heads to the penalty box with blood running down his cheek after getting in a fight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n![\"Hockey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0410-spt-habs_302507590.jpg\")
Tampa Bay Lightning\u2019s Bryaden Point crashes into Canadiens\u2019 Jakub Dobe\u0161 as Mike Matheson defends. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n![\"Hockey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0410-spt-habs_302508140.jpg\")
Canadiens\u2019 Nick Suzuki acknowledges cheers after being named third star of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n