The Canadiens are returning home to Montreal after splitting the first two games of this series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are hoping that Cole Caufield can get things going in Game 3, and Martin St. Louis has a very simple message for Caufield.
After practice on Thursday, St. Louis met with the media, and he was asked what a player of Caufield's size has to do to flourish in the playoffs. "Just trust his game," the Canadiens coach said.
It was an incredible season by Cole Caufield as he finished with 51 goals, coming up one goal short of Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL lead in the category. Even without him winning the Rocket Richard Trophy, it was still a memorable season as he was the first Canadiens player with 50 or more goals in over 30 seasons.
Cole Caufield has the chance to be a difference maker for the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3
The fact that the Canadiens would split the first two games, and really had a chance to be up 2-0 in this series, without Caufield scoring a goal so far, speaks to how well this team collectively has played. However, if they hope to get past the Lightning and make a deep run in the playoffs, they are going to need Cole Caufield to start scoring.
The struggles for Caufield to score go beyond the playoffs, and after scoring 12 goals over an 11-game stretch, he has had only two goals in his last nine. It also isn't that surprising that during this recent stretch, the Canadiens have a 5-3-1 record.
For Caufield, the biggest thing is to get more space to open up shooting lanes, and he is going to need help from all his teammates on the ice. Through the first two games, Caufield has only three shots on goal and six shots total after averaging 3.19 shots on goal and 5.7 total shots per game.
If the Canadiens can continue to get the team to play at the level they are with Cole Caufield being more productive, Montreal should like their chances of taking the 2-1 lead in this series on Friday night.