Cole Caufield is the best thing the Montreal Canadiens have going, and right now he's also the thing papering over a habit that should bother you. Montreal beat Buffalo 4-3 in overtime at the Bell Centre, Caufield's second of the night, 54 seconds into the extra period, a breakaway finished into the top-left corner after Josh Norris missed on a three-on-one the other way. Pure and deserved for him. The goal extended his franchise record to 14 regular-season overtime winners.
This was the second time in five days Montreal played Buffalo, and the second time in five days Montreal needed a bailout. On October 13 they blew a two-goal lead and won in a shootout. On this night they built a 3-1 lead, watched Buffalo claw back to 3-3 in the third, and then needed Caufield to save the two points in overtime. Same opponent, same rescue, same guy pulling it off.
The thing you should want from a team that fancies itself a playoff club is the ability to kill a game dead. Montreal couldn't. They led a Buffalo side that sits under .500, and they let it get to overtime, which means they handed Buffalo a standings point on the way out the door. Do that often enough against the teams you're supposed to beat and those loser points you keep gifting become the ones you're chasing in April.
For two periods, though, Montreal was the better team by a distance. They out-shot Buffalo 34-26 and controlled the puck, posting a 53.8 percent Corsi and working the inside lanes while Buffalo settled for distance. Their average shot came from 8.3 feet to Buffalo's 12.7. That's a team doing almost everything right and then easing off the throat when the game is there to be ended.
Which is exactly why it nags. Montreal is good enough to build two separate two-goal leads against a sub-.500 team, and it still keeps inviting that team back into the room. Buffalo's push in the third was earned and their resilience was real. It also shouldn't have been possible from where Montreal had the game.
A win is a win, and two points in October spend the same as two points in March. Fine. But the people telling you to just enjoy the ride are only describing a style, and styles don't survive April. "Cardiac kids" is fun until the hero has an off night, or finally cools off against someone who isn't Buffalo. Caufield can't win every one of these at 54 seconds of overtime, and the day he doesn't, Montreal won't have a dramatic finish to talk about. They'll have a blown lead and a loss.
Celebrate Caufield. He's spectacular and he's doing his job better than anyone on the roster. Then look at everyone around him who keeps leaving it to him, because a team that can't close out Buffalo is going to find out the hard way what happens when the rescue act doesn't show up.
