Because the Canadians needed a loss for senators who learn a lesson that Vince prevented

Ottawa – Cole Caufield was sitting in his locker after the Montreal Canadiens kept their morning skating on Tuesday before a critical matchup with the Detroit Red Wings, and was in a good mood.

The Canadiens were getting five consecutive victories. Another later that night he would almost assure his team’s first place in four years. There was nothing to be harsh. Life was good, especially after the last three seasons of misery, when the games at this time of the year were not insignificant apart from their impact on the project’s lottery.

It was then that Caufield was asked if he would like to hear some crazy statistics.

On December 30, through their first 36 games of the season, the Canadiens had a record of 0-13-0 when they dragged after two periods.

Caufield chuckled.

On December 31 in Las Vegas, the Canadiens entered the third period by reporting the Golden Knights 2-1, with Caufield who scored at the end of the second period to bring it closer and twice scored in the third to win the game 3-2. From 30 December, including that game and entering Tuesday against the Red Wings, the Canadiens had a record of 8-11-3 when they dragged after two periods, guiding the League in return victories of the third period not only from that date, but throughout the season.

Except this also meant that from 30 December, the Canadiens had followed two periods in 22 of their 41 games played since that date since Tuesday morning.

Caufield also gave the statistics.

“It’s not good,” he said.

It was a good sign and a bad sign, all at once. It shows resilience and the ability to return, but it is not a formula for prolonged success.

“I would say that it is a great reason why we are in this place today, but it is also a place where you don’t want to be so much,” Caufield said. “But I think we found a way to get out of those, and that’s how we grew up like a team, especially this year. But when we had Lead entering the third, I feel that we have been much more mature like a team. We just have to find that happy vehicle.”

That night, the Canadiens were turned off by the Red Wings 23-4 but only followed 1-0 after 20 minutes. Caufield tied him in the second period and the Canadiens won him in the third.

Fast forward until Friday evening and Caufield was not in a good mood. He was not giving up.

The Canadiens had the first opportunity to conquer a place in the playoffs since 2021, when Caufield had just left the college, a debutant of the NHL that had a great impact helping the Canadiens to reach the Stanley Cup final. Since then it has been nothing but misery.

The Canadiens had won six consecutive games, but they lost this against the senators of Ottawa when they allowed a goal on the opening round of the game, with Caufield, Juraj Slafkovský and Captain Nick Suzuki on the ice to start the game. In their next round, the senators scored again, although Slafkovský had left the ice just before Dylan Cozens made it 2-0. And the upper line that guided Montreal’s success so much was on the ice for his first round of the second period in which the senators did 3-0.

8️⃣5ere #Gosensgo of them. #Gosensgo pic.twitter.com/k0rzpa8njk

– X – Ottawa Senatorors (@senators) April 12, 2025

“A victory is a victory right now, so we have to compose our departures, to start in time,” Caufield said after the loss of 5-2 against the senators. “We can’t always come back.

The Canadiens would not have won to finish the season with a winning series of 10 games. This had to happen at some point.

But this is particularly true due to how they have won in recent times. During the series of six-games victories, they had been exceeded 5-2 in the first period, four of those games were exceeded. They were digging into the holes and found a way to dig from them, overcoming their opponents 11-2 in the third period.

It is a good quality to have for a team, but for a team that tries to conquer a place in the playoffs and hope to do damage to the playoffs, it is not a good trend.

“It’s another unacceptable beginning,” said coach Martin St. Louis. “It is difficult to return after playing it so often. It wasn’t our game tonight.”

From a macro point of view, this game was particularly difficult for someone like Kaiden Guhle, who had better nights. That this night came when the Canadiens could finally conquer a playoff place for the first time in his career hit Guhle.

“We are human, think of that stuff, but I imagine it is the first situation for many of us to have the opportunity to win a place in the playoffs, but I don’t know,” said Guhle. “I don’t know how the ranking is now, I have not looked at. But I’m sure, again, tomorrow it will be another opportunity.”

On the one hand, the loss in these circumstances hurts someone like Guhle. On the other hand, this is the first time in his career that loss at this time of the year, where that feeling wounded after a loss is shared by the base of fans, rather than rejoicing because it helps the possibilities of the Canadian lottery. This, in a sense, is something to celebrate.

Guhle recognized that, to a certain extent, despite how poor it was for this loss.

“I have been to many losers in my career and I think you have to learn to lose before learning to win,” said Guhle. “I think that if you ask anyone who has won something, almost every single person has lost before. A couple of difficult years, turning things now, do not learn only to win, just like that. You must be kicked in the walnuts before understanding how to bounce. It is what we have learned is what we are doing. I feel as if we have learned and we are learning to win now.”

The Canadiens have another opportunity to close the agreement on Saturday evening in Toronto against the rival Maple Leafs on Hockey night in Canada. They will meet Ivan Demidov for the first time before that day, an elite talent that could help them do damage to the playoffs if they ensure that ticket on Saturday evening.

The Canadiens are about to do something of very few people, in addition to them, thought was possible at the beginning of the season, even in the middle of the season. They are still in that position, but they are still learning how to win and how to close the agreement under pressure.

On Friday evening a lesson were granted that were also granted on Tuesday evening and the Sunday evening before Nashville and the night before against the Filadelphia Flyers.

St. Louis loves to use the term “bounce forward” instead of “bouncing”. Now it is on the Canadians to learn that lesson and apply it on Saturday evening to complete this unlikely journey to the playoffs.

(Photo by Christian Dvorak and Adam Gaude: Marc Desrosiers / Imagn images)