The Montreal Canadiens are going to look to extend their win streak to eight games on Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils. It has been an impressive run with big wins over teams like the Carolina Hurricanes (twice) and Tampa Bay Lightning.
This recent stretch has turned the race for the Atlantic Division into a three-team race and by the time the Canadiens leave the ice on Saturday, they could find themselves tied with the Lightning and Buffalo Sabres. Entering Saturday, the Sabres and Lightning are tied at 100 points while the Canadiens are only two points back.
While they could be tied with both of those teams, they are well behind in terms of one of the first tiebreakers in regulation wins. The Sabres and Lightning are both at 38, while the Canadiens are at 32.
Even if both of those teams are technically ahead of the Canadiens, it has been an incredible run that has gotten Montreal even into this position. About two weeks ago, there was concern if the Canadiens could even hold onto a playoff spot, but now they are fighting for home ice in the first round.
Can Cole Caufield reach the 50-goal milestone on Saturday?
The other big storyline to watch in the game on Saturday is whether or not Cole Caufield can break the 50-goal milestone. It feels almost poetic that he is going to have a chance to do it on Saturday night, as he has 21 goals in 20 games and earned the nickname "Mr. Saturday Night".
However, at this point, Caufield seems to be Mr. Every Night because he has been almost unstoppable as of late. Over the past 11 games, he has 12 goals and there has been only two games during this stretch where he hasn't scored.
The Canadiens' forward is chasing Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead in goals so he not only could reach 50 goals, but tie or even surpass MacKinnon if he scores more than one goal. Prior to taking the ice, Caufield will know what he needs to do as the Avalanche are playing earlier in the day.
It has been over 35 seasons since the Canadiens have had a player score 50 or more goals and Stephane Richer was the last to do it when he scored 51 in the 1989-90 season. Caufield almost certainly will be joining the 50-goal club but the question is whether or not this will be the game he does it.
The Montreal Canadiens have plenty at stake in this game as they try to protect their win streak, move into a tie for the Atlantic Division and Caufield hoping to reach 50-goals in a season. There is plenty to watch for on Saturday night against the Devils.