The Montreal Canadiens shined throughout the regular season thanks to their young core of players who were putting up points at will. Their biggest producer was winger Cole Caufield, who put up 51 goals. Yet in the playoffs, he only has one goal, and that arrived on the power play. On even strength situations, Caufield doesn't have a single point. It's a true dilemma for Caufield, who was expected to help lead the Canadiens in this playoff run.
Let's just say that he knows about his struggles in these playoffs.
Caufield spoke with reporters on Thursday, one day before Game 2, and said that he expects more from himself.
"As a whole, not where I want it to be," Caufield said, h/t TSN. "I expect more out of myself, and my teammates do, too. Just trying to get better every game and just trying to make a difference."
Cole Caufield says he expects more from himself amid goal drought in playoffs
As is the case with any star player on a team, the panic alarms will sound if they are unable to affect the score of a playoff game. Look at the Ottawa Senators, where captain Brady Tkachuk didn't log a single point while getting swept in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Even with the talk and criticism getting louder as Caufield's struggles, he isn't letting it affect his confidence on the ice.
"I want to be better. I want to produce more, but you can't lack confidence in this league," said Caufield. "Once you do, I think that's when you really start to struggle. The confidence is there, obviously, and the positivity in this room is still going strong.
“There's no worries here … just going to try and continue to work harder."
Caufield and the top line as a whole haven't done too much in these playoffs, especially on even strength, with only Nick Suzuki having two points to his credit. Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky have zero points on even strength situations. It's not great, especially as Montreal is in the second round, where the competition will only get tougher. They already went through a tough battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now take on a complete Sabres team.
It may only be a matter of time until Caufield does score his first goal for the first time since Game 4 against Tampa Bay. Maybe that arrives in Game 2 on Friday night. Caufield for sure sounds like someone who is motivated to be a major factor in why Montreal makes a deep run in the playoffs.
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