If you had told a Montreal Canadiens fan before the playoffs that the team would make the second round with one goal from forward Cole Caufield, they would have had a hard time believing it.
Caufield, after all, was one of two NHL players this season to score 50 goals and the first Canadiens player in almost 40 years to do so. But eight games into Montreal’s playoff run (Game 2 vs. Buffalo is Friday, Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT), Caufield is stuck on one goal, which came on the power play in Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning last round.
On Wednesday, Caufield fired two shots on goal in the Canadiens’ 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres — the seventh time in eight playoff games that he has recorded two or fewer shots. (He averaged 3.19 shots per game during the regular season.)
“As a whole, (my game is) not where I want it to be,” Caufield told reporters Thursday. “Obviously, I expect more out of myself, and my teammates do, too.”
All of Caufield’s shooting metrics are down significantly from the regular season. Most notably, Caufield has been unable to penetrate the inner slot, where he scored 21 of his 51 goals. Close to 22 per cent of Caufield’s total shot attempts in the regular season were from the inner slot. That rate has dropped to just 9.7 per cent in the playoffs as the Lightning and Sabres have kept Caufield to the outside. (Caufield’s slot-pass receptions per 60 minutes have also decreased from 6.56 in the regular season to 3.62 in the playoffs.)
It did not help Caufield, of course, that he had Selke Trophy finalist Anthony Cirelli hounding him for much of the first round. Caufield went up against Cirelli for 56:07 at five-on-five over seven games, and the Canadiens generated only 11 scoring chances in those minutes, including just four rush chances. (Caufield was responsible for six of the 11 chances, four of which came in Montreal’s 1-0 overtime loss to Tampa Bay in Game 6.)
Buffalo used Alex Tuch’s (4:42 of head-to-head ice time) and Josh Norris’s (3:48) lines against Montreal’s top line Wednesday. Overall, Caufield and linemates Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky generated one scoring chance at five-on-five in 12:05 of ice time.
“They’re a good team, they just beat a good team,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff told reporters. “That top line, Slafkovský is one hell of a player. And then you’ve got a 50-goal scorer on that line at the same time. Maybe they will generate a little bit more.”
Collectively, it has been a struggle for Caufield, Suzuki and Slafkovsky in these playoffs. The Canadiens’ No. 1 line has been outscored 5-0 and generated 34.4 per cent of the expected goals over 67:12 at five-on-five. Slafkovsky, who opened the playoffs with a hat trick, has one assist in his past seven games. Suzuki has a team-high seven points but only two at five-on-five.
The Canadiens are hoping that the more wide-open nature of this series will better suit their top forwards. The Sabres won the rush battle Wednesday, out-chancing the Canadiens 9-2 and scoring twice in that fashion, including forward Jordan Greenway’s game-winner.
Caufield, Suzuki and Slafkovsky, however, generated 1:20 of offensive-zone possession time at five-on-five in Game 1, their second-highest output of the playoffs. They recorded 1:40 of offensive-zone possession time in Game 2 of the Lightning series, though that game required overtime.
“They haven’t had this kind of space for two weeks,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis told reporters. “We felt that was going to be the case (Wednesday), that it was mostly a possibility. We did spend a good amount of time there, but we’re going to have to do a better job with the time that we spend there.”
To a man, Caufield’s teammates have expressed confidence in him despite his slump.
“He’s been playing hard,” Suzuki told reporters. “I don’t think he’s too frustrated. Obviously, there’s moments in the game you get frustrated with yourself, but I thought he’s done a good job of just continuing to play. He’s a really good player and he’ll find his moment to score for sure.”
But the Canadiens will have a difficult time keeping up with the Sabres if Caufield does not find his shot. When asked what his message was for Caufield before the series, St. Louis offered two words.
“Keep playing,” he said.
