Top 5 magical moments of the season, presented by Coca-Cola

MONTREAL - A hockey season is full of magic moments, events that lift us out of our seats and get etched in our memory forever. Whether it's a beauty save, a timely goal, or a special interaction, these moments are what make the sport so great.

For the Habs, the 2021-22 season may have been a difficult one, but there were still plenty of noteworthy events that inspired and excited us throughout the campaign. Let's take a look back at the top 5 magical moments of the season, presented by Coca-Cola:
5. Cole Caufield scored 23 goals in his rookie season, putting him in a four-way tie for second place among first-year players. Two of those goals came in the latter part of a come-from-behind win over the St. Louis Blues on February 17. Trailing 2-1 in the game's dying minutes, Caufield parked himself to the right of Blues netminder Ville Husso and buried a beautiful feed through traffic from Chris Wideman to tie the game with just 8.7 seconds to go in regulation. Then, in overtime, Caufield joined Jeff Petry on a drive into the St. Louis zone and tapped in Petry's pass to give the victory to Montreal. What a way to get Martin St-Louis his first win as head coach.

4. Sam Montembeault did an admirable job filling in between the pipes this season and had his fair share of highlight-worthy stops in his first year with the Canadiens. And though he may have faced more shots in other contests, Montembeault will probably remember his 32-save effort against the Sabres on February 23, because that was the night he earned his first career NHL shutout in a 4-0 win over Buffalo. Some highlights from that contest include his three consecutive saves against Alex Tuch, Casey Mittelstadt, and Henri Jokiharju, respectively, early in the second period; his poise in following Dylan Cozens as he attempted a deke from in-close in the third; and a high-blocker save on Peyton Krebs on a Buffalo power play with 5:29 remaining.
3. Yes, you guessed it: Caufield appears on this list more than once, and it's because of another two-goal effort by the American winger. This time, the pair of goals were scored on March 15 against the Arizona Coyotes, and what's extra magical about those tallies is that they came just eight seconds apart. First, Caufield beat Karel Vejmelka with a wrister on the power play to help the Habs narrow the gap to 5-2. Then, with Bell Centre house announcer Michel Lacroix still announcing his previous marker, the 21-year-old danced into the Arizona zone, beat two Coyotes defenders, and wired it past Vejmelka to make it a two-goal game. According to

, they were the third-quickest two goals by an NHL rookie.
2. Nick Suzuki had a career year in 2021-22, leading the Canadiens in both assists (40) and points (61) in just his third season in the NHL. On April 2, the Habs had come back from a 3-1 deficit against the Lightning in Tampa to bring the game to extra time. With no goals scored in overtime and five shooters unable to light the lamp in the shootout, it was up to Suzuki to finish things off - and he did not disappoint. The London, ON native came into the Lightning zone wide before heading for the crease, faking a forehand and then beating Brian Elliott on the backhand to win it for the Canadiens. It was Montreal's first victory in Tampa since April 1, 2017.

1. After helping his team reach the Stanley Cup Final last summer, Carey Price has faced an avalanche of adversity, dealing with the effects of offseason knee surgery and related rehabilitation, while also checking himself into the NHL/NHLPA's player assistance program. Watching his team struggle from the sidelines could not have been easy for the lifelong competitor, and he was certainly dearly missed by fans at the Bell Centre in 2021-22. Luckily for them, they wouldn't have to go an entire hockey season without seeing their beloved No. 31 in the Montreal crease, as Price made his much-awaited return on April 15 against the New York Islanders. It goes without saying that the reaction he got from the crowd upon stepping onto the ice was truly magical.