Cole Caufield scores first in back-to-back games and reaches important milestone

Many of the Four Nations Faceoff snubs from the Montreal Canadiens roster have been performing well since the NHL's return to action, and Cole Caufield might be enjoying the most success. Caufield scored in the first game back against the Ottawa Senators, before recording an assist in the second game. He added a goal and an assist in the next game against the San Jose Sharks, before opening the scoring in the Canadiens' first game of a home-and-home against the Buffalo Sabres.

On Monday night, it was deja vu for the Canadiens and Sabres, as Caufield scored the opening goal in a powerplay-filled first period. Buffalo entered the game with one clear goal: take the physicality to the Canadiens and show they wouldn't get pushed around in Montreal. The issue for the last-place club was they could not do so in a disciplined fashion, which led to the Canadiens being on the man advantage for most of the period.

Caufield had already surpassed his career-high on Saturday night when he scored his 29th goal of the season. His previous career-high was last season when he scored 28, which shows the Canadiens that he is on a steady development trajectory. With his first-period goal on Monday night, Caufield became a 30-goal scorer for the first time in his young career, a milestone the Canadiens hopes will only be a stepping stone to more substantial things.

The stepping stone might come sooner than the Canadiens thought if Caufield can continue at this pace for the rest of the season. He is currently on track to record over 40 goals, putting him in a class with some of the league's elite snipers. He is now tied with Brandon Hagel for the ninth-most goals in the league but is within striking distance of Alex Ovechkin, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart, and David Pastrnak. Not bad company to be in.

The first period of the Sabres game was a special teams masterclass, leaving with a 3-0 lead on two powerplay goals and a shorthanded marker from Nick Suzuki. Suzuki had three points in the first, which gives him 12 points in 4 1/3 games since the break. If Caufield and Suzuki continue putting the team on their backs, the playoffs could be on the horizon.