Cole Caufield Just Became the Seventh Hab Ever to Hit 50 Goals, and Montreal Is About to Wreck Columbus's Season

The Montreal Canadiens are playing the best hockey of their season right now, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are running out of time to save themselves. Montreal's coming off a 2-1 home win over Tampa Bay on Thursday, and they're heading into Saturday's matchup with 10 wins in their last 11 games. The Habs are locked in. Columbus? They're falling apart.

The Collapse Is Real

Here's where it gets brutal for Blue Jackets fans. Rick Bowness came in on January 12 and absolutely turned things around at first, posting an 18-2-4 record through his first 24 games. Then the wheels fell off completely. Columbus is 2-7-1 over their last 10 games, and Thursday's loss to Buffalo was the kind of loss that stings: they dominated the shots battle 37-24, but lost 5-0 anyway. Jet Greaves made 19 saves for Columbus, but rookie Colten Ellis was too much to overcome with his shutout performance.

Bowness saw it coming. "We play like that again on Saturday, we'll be fine. Their goalie stole the game for them tonight," he said. Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner agreed, saying "We put our heart and soul into that game and it's disappointing not getting the reward. But, we're still in it and we gotta find a way to bear down and bring one Saturday for us."

Montreal's Milestones, Columbus's Nightmare Fuel

Cole Caufield scored his 50th goal of the season on Thursday in Montreal's win over Tampa Bay, becoming just the seventh player in the franchise's entire history to reach that mark. Juraj Slafkovsky added the game-winner with 1:04 left, reaching 30 goals for the first time in his career. That's the kind of firepower headed Columbus's way on Saturday.

Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis kept it simple: "It's fun that Cole got his 50th, Slaf got his 30th. They're big goals, and a lot of goals. But I loved the way we carried ourselves. Together, but in control, too."

The Playoff Math Gets Uglier

Columbus is clinging to life at 39-28-12 with 90 points. They're two points behind Philadelphia for third in the Metro with three games left, but the Islanders are also ahead of them at 91 points. The two Eastern Conference wild card spots? Basically done. Boston has 96 points, Ottawa has 94. Montreal, meanwhile, is postseason-bound at 47-22-10 with 104 points and sitting two points clear of Tampa Bay for second in the Atlantic.

Saturday night at the Bell Centre is going to tell you everything you need to know about whether Columbus can pull off the miracle or if it's over.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.