Canadiens: 5 Things to Watch For in the Second Half of the Season

The Quest for 40 Goals and 82 Points

The last player to score 40 goals for the Canadiens was Vincent Damphousse back in 1993-94, which would make it 30 years since. The last player to score over 82 points (which would be a point-per-game average) was Alex Kovalev back in 2007-08. That’s a long time, and it’s a mark no other franchise can top, which is not a distinction I’d want to hold.

There was hope that the likes of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki could change that with a good year. After all, Caufield had 26 goals in just 46 games last year; he seemed on pace to break that. But alas, as of right now, neither player look primed to reach 40 goals or 82 points. But there’s still time for that to potentially change.

Caufield is on pace for just 25 goals, a disappointing season, but a hot streak from him could quickly change that. He’s had a rough go of things this year, but he’s got goals in two straight ahead of their contest versus the Devils on Wednesday night. He may have an outside shot at 40 if he can keep the momentum going. We know Caufield has the ability to get hot and go on a tear, and it’d be nice to see at some point in the second half.

Unlike Caufield, Suzuki is having a season more aligned with what we know he is capable of. The Habs captain is on pace for a new career high in points with 71, which would be the highest by a Canadiens player since Max Domi back in 2018-19. Still, it would fall short of that 82 points mark that has been so elusive to a Canadiens player. But, like Caufield, a quick hot streak from Suzuki could make it a possibility.

It's certainly not a guarantee it’ll happen, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility just yet. But things need to get going quickly if they want to change that. We’ll just have to watch and see, but it’s certainly a storyline to follow. I, for one, would like to see at least one of these two dubious streaks come to an end.