Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield scored his 100th career goal against the Vegas Golden Knights on New Year’s Eve. The goal, his 19th of the season, came at 17:27 of the second, to cut the visiting Canadiens’ deficit to 2-1. Captain Nick Suzuki found Caufield open at the side of the net for the goal, linemate Juraj Slafkovsky getting the other assist.
It took Caufield, who will turn 24 on Jan. 2, 242 games to reach the mark. It’s nevertheless something of a long time coming for the Canadiens forward. He had found himself among the league leaders in goals scored early this season, with 10 in his first 11 games and 16 in his first 24.
LUI
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Over Caufield’s previous 12, heading into the contest against the Golden Knights, he had scored just twice. The stretch started with the Dec. 3 debut of Patrik Laine, who has eight goals (and two assists) in 12 games this season. Caufield nonetheless contributed 11 (now 12) points since then, with 34 total points in 37 games this season.
Drafted 15th overall in 2019, Caufield debuted late in the 2020-21 season, after a successful collegiate career with the University of Wisconsin, where he won the 2021 Hobey Baker Award as the top university player in the United States. He first joined the Laval Rocket and then the Montreal Canadiens. His first goal came May 1, 2021, an overtime winner vs. the Ottawa Senators.
Caufield’s official rookie season was 2021-22, which got off to a rocky start and led to him getting demoted temporarily to the American Hockey League. He nevertheless rebounded strongly after the hiring of Martin St. Louis as head coach, finishing with 23 goals and 43 points in 67 games.
Related: Canadiens Who Just Missed Out on Calder Trophy Before Caufield
Caufield’s most productive season to date was 2023-24, when he scored a career-high 28 goals and 65 points in 82 games. The previous season though, he had scored 26 goals (and 10 assists) in 46 games, a 46-goal pace, before a shoulder injury ended his 2022-23 campaign.
