Caufield chasing 50-goal mark, Richard Trophy for Canadiens

MONTREAL -- The Bell Centre spotlight that bathes Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield during raucous celebrations of his goals is entirely needless.

Arguably the purest goal-scorer in this city since Guy Lafleur, Caufield’s joyful megawatt grin lights up the arena without any help.

That the Canadiens are knocking on the door of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, riding a five-game winning streak, is an enormous story in Montreal, a town consumed by hockey around the clock. That Caufield could become the first on this team to score 50 goals in a season since 1990 is a delicious subplot.

Then there’s the fact that Caufield is in a spirited chase for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, awarded annually since 1999 to the NHL player with the most regular-season goals. No member of the Canadiens has won the trophy, named for the late Montreal legend who in 1944-45 was first in the League to score 50 goals in a season, an even 100 players having since followed him to the milestone.

Maurice “Rocket” Richard in a photo taken during the 1944-45 season, in which he became the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season.

With nine goals in his past nine games, nine games remaining on the Canadiens schedule -- surely, it’s just a coincidence that the Rocket wore No. 9 -- Caufield has scored 46 heading into Montreal’s game at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, The Spot, TSN2, RDS) in what could be a preview of an Eastern Conference First Round matchup. He’s played all but one of Montreal’s 73 games, missing a game on March 11 against the Ottawa Senators because of illness.

In the NHL goal-scoring race, he stands second, two behind the 48 of Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon.

Through it all, Caufield has maintained a carefree, relaxed poise. After his overtime goal against the Boston Bruins on March 17, his 40th goal making him the first Canadien with that total since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94, Caufield was asked on Bell Centre ice by RDS analyst Marc Denis during his First Star interview, “Well, what’s after 40? 50?” With the crowd roaring, Caufield replied with a laugh, “41.”

Six members of the Canadiens have scored at least 50 goals in a season a total of 12 times. Following Richard was Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion in 1960-61; Lafleur, six seasons consecutively from 1974-75 through 1979-80; Steve Shutt in 1976-77; Pierre Larouche in 1979-80; and Stephane Richer in 1987-88 and 1989-90.

Montreal Canadiens players who have scored 50 or more goals in a season. The list is in descending order with total goals scored during their 50-goal seasons.

The Canadiens are two games into a five-game road trip, returning home for four in seven nights then two more games on the road to finish the regular season.

Six times, a Canadien has scored his 50th goal on Montreal Forum ice; the others have come in Buffalo (twice), Boston, Detroit, Long Island and Hartford.

Richard’s historic 50th goal came on March 18, 1945, in his team’s 50th and final game of the regular season, only 2:15 left on the third-period clock at Boston Garden when he converted a pass from center Elmer Lach, beating Bruins goalie Harvey Bennett.

With playoff matchups already set, Montreal-based reporters didn’t make the trip for the Canadiens’ 4-2 win in the regular-season finale, relying on wire-service reports.

Canadiens’ Maurice Richard (l.) and Bernie Geoffrion in their Maple Leaf Gardens dressing room during the late 1950s. The two future Hall of Famers were the first and second to score 50 goals in an NHL regular season.

Dressing rooms were rarely visited postgame in that era thus there is no news story that quotes the Rocket on the significance of his goal scored in Boston, 50 in a season not considered a milestone until after he scored it. There was much more attention paid to Richard’s 45th a few weeks earlier; that passed Canadiens’ Joe Malone for the single-season scoring record that had been set in 1917-18, the NHL’s 22-game first year.

In later years, Richard said he was proud of the 50-goal achievement but placed more importance on the 500th goal of his career, also having been the first in NHL history to that plateau.

It would be 16 years before another player would score 50, Geoffrion beating Toronto rookie goalie Cesare Maniago at the Forum on March 16, 1961.

True to form, the Boomer was full vocal value for his goal in the 5-2 victory, relating news that the freshly retired Richard, though not at the Forum, was among the well-wishers.

“The Rocket told me he was glad,” Geoffrion said. “He said, ‘I told you before that if somebody had to equal my record, I would want it to be one of my old teammates.’ I remember now I didn’t pay much attention to him at the time. Fifty goals looks like a lot and I never thought I’d make it.”

Bernie Geoffrion whips his 50th goal of the 1960-61 season just past the skate of Toronto Maple Leafs rookie goalie Cesare Maniago.

Another 14 years would pass before Lafleur began his run of six consecutive years from 1974-75 of scoring 50 or more, reaching a high of 60 in 1977-78. He shares that franchise record with Shutt, who scored 60 in 1976-77 during the Canadiens’ dynasty run of four straight Stanley Cup wins.

Lafleur scored 50 for the first time on March 29, 1975, beating Kansas City Scouts goalie Denis Herron at 14:04 of the first period in a 4-1 win. It came in the Canadiens’ 1,000th home-ice victory, the first NHL team to reach that plateau.

Richard was on the phone to Lafleur during the first intermission, calling to offer his congratulations, Geoffrion sending a telegram of good wishes.

In the Forum was Toe Blake, center on the Canadiens’ legendary 1940s "Punch Line" with Richard and Lach before he went on to coach Montreal to eight championships from 1956-68. Blake skated alongside Richard the night the latter scored his 50th, and was coaching the night Geoffrion hit 50.

Guy Lafleur, who scored 50 or more goals in six consecutive seasons, rushes against the New York Islanders during a 1970s game.

Lost in the glare of Lafleur’s magical night was that Canadiens forward Doug Risebrough passed John Ferguson as the team’s single-season penalty-minutes king, two minors and a major giving him 190 minutes for the year, five more than Ferguson’s record from 1968-69.

(Risebrough’s team record of 198 that season is long gone; Chris Nilan is atop the category with 358 in 1984-85.)

Defenseman Larry Robinson, who had three assists in the game, retrieved a tossed penny from the ice following Lafleur’s goal and offered it to his teammate for good luck, in the hope it would yield No. 51. It wasn’t to be, though he’d score two more before season’s end.

Through a tight grin, the ponderous weight of Montreal fans off his shoulders, Lafleur said, “Next year it’s going to be worse. Next year, they’ll expect 60.”

Guy Lafleur (l.) and Steve Shutt ride together during the Canadiens’ 1977-78 Stanley Cup parade.

They’d have to wait three seasons for that, Lafleur scoring 56 and 56 before hitting 60, then scoring 52 and 50 to end his streak.

Shutt scored his 50th on Long Island against the New York Islanders, beating Chico Resch on March 1, 1977, Lafleur diving into the net to retrieve the souvenir. Shutt joked about teammates claiming he scored nothing but “garbage goals,” adding, “I’m not a garbage collector anymore. After 40 goals, you become a specialist.”

Needled Lafleur: “It’s nice to see somebody else score 50 goals for a change.”

Larouche joined the 50-goal club on March 25, 1980, beating Chicago’s Tony Esposito during an 8-4 romp at the Forum. He became the first player with 50 for two different teams, having scored 53 with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1975-76, his second NHL season.

Steve Shutt (l.) and Pierre Larouche, who respectively scored 60 and 50 goals for the Canadiens.

Parked at 49 for three games, Larouche was relieved to finally get his 50th.

“I wasn’t worrying but I was trying to calm down a little bit,” he said. “It’s like something that’s been hanging around my neck the last few weeks has been taken away.”

Richer would hit 50 twice over three seasons, both times on the road -- April 3, 1988 in a 4-4 tie against Buffalo’s Tom Barrasso and March 24, 1990 in a 7-4 loss against Hartford’s Peter Sidorkiewicz.

“The funny thing is that when I scored my second goal (for No. 50), I jumped,” he said of the Sabres game, at 21 years and 301 days that night the youngest of the six Canadiens with the milestone. “But it didn’t really get to me until I got to the bench. My legs started shaking.”

Stephane Richer in action at the Montreal Forum.

Richer was less excited after scoring a power-play hat trick against the Whalers to give him 51.

“What can I say? It’s something you dream about the first time you do it. The second time also is a dream,” he said.

“But the goals don’t mean nearly as much when you don’t win the game. They don’t mean as much when the other team scores seven.”

Should No. 50 come for Caufield before season’s end, you’d best believe he’ll greet it with the same grin he will have worn for his 167 career goals that came before it.

Top photo: Cole Caufield celebrates his 41st goal of the season during the second period against the New York Islanders at Bell Centre on March 21, 2026. Caufield had three goals and two assists in the Canadiens’ 7-3 victory.