Caufield comes up clutch again for Canadiens in win over Wild: ‘I like those moments’

MONTREAL – Phillip Danault watched Cole Caufield score timely goals as a rookie during the Montreal Canadiens’ run to the 2021 Stanley Cup final.

Five years later, the sharpshooting winger is still delivering in the clutch.

Caufield scored the winner with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.

“He’s always been clutch,” said Danault, reacquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 19. “From the start he was clutch, so it was just about seeing if he could keep up that pace — and he’s exceeding it.”

Caufield one-timed a Nick Suzuki pass from the right circle, rotating 180 degrees to get the shot off, and beat Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt over his left shoulder as the Bell Centre crowd erupted.

The 25-year-old American has made a habit of stepping up late in games, after also scoring in overtime Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. Of his team-high 25 goals this season, seven are game-winners.

“I wish I could score earlier in the games too sometimes,” said the five-foot-eight Caufield, who’s often reluctant to speak about himself. “That’s just hockey, it’s the way it goes. I like those moments.”

Head coach Martin St. Louis explained that Caufield has the tools — and the confidence — to shine during those high-pressure situations.

“He has done it all his life so far, he’s a player who scored a lot of goals when he was young,” St. Louis said. “There’s a lot of evidence that he’s able to do that, and he continues to do it.

“It’s on and off his stick pretty quick, and he takes a shot from there that it’s not necessarily his spot, but it’s where the game was asking him to go based on where everybody else was on the ice.”

The Canadiens tagged USA Hockey in a social media post of Caufield’s goal just weeks after he was left off the American Olympic team.

Asked whether scoring the winner against the Wild and Bill Guerin — also U.S. general manager — made it sweeter, Caufield took the high road.

“It feels good to win,” he said.

St. Louis sent faceoff specialist Danault on the ice with Suzuki and Caufield for an offensive-zone draw in the final minute. Though he was kicked out of the faceoff by the linesman, Danault set a crucial screen on Wallstedt on the winner.

The 32-year-old from Victoriaville, Que., scored his first goal of the season at 15:22 of the first period, jamming in a rebound to break a 274-day goal drought dating back to last season’s playoffs.

“Well, I scored on some goalies over the summer,” said Danault with a smile. “It’s feels good. For me, my wife, at home it wasn’t easy either. I’m a competitor and I want to perform, I want to help the team in every way, and I was missing that little edge. It feels really good tonight, especially at the Bell Centre, it couldn’t have been better.”

The Canadiens snapped a streak of their own, beating the Wild for the first time since Oct. 17, 2019, ending a run of nine games. The well-rested Canadiens dominated the shot count 33-19 against a Wild team that played in Toronto the night before.

“We deserved this game. Our 5-on-5 game was excellent,” said St. Louis, who previously admitted the Canadiens were lucky to leave with two points against Ottawa. “We looked like ourselves. We played a lot more pace.”

The Canadiens (28-15-7) sit third in the Atlantic Division, three points back of the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning with two more games played.

DECEPTIVE DEMI

Two of the Canadiens’ brightest young stars connected on a second-period goal for a 3-2 lead. Rookie winger Ivan Demidov held the puck in the slot while fans yelled “shoot!” before fooling the Wild and finding Lane Hutson, last season’s Calder Trophy winner, open near the goal line for a one-timer.

“I called for it once, and I knew he would see me,” Hutson said. “He’s so good at reading the play and putting a puck in a good spot for me.

“He’s really good at deception. He didn’t need to look at me, he kind of felt me there and that was a really nice pass.”

The 20-year-old Demidov leads all rookies with 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists) in 50 games this season. Hutson, meanwhile, is tied for second in points by a defenceman with 52 (nine goals, 43 assists).

“Lane’s a pretty smart guy, so he’s always probably (expecting) me or other guys to pass,” Demidov said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 21, 2026.