Caufield shines for Canadiens in front of Australian fans in Game 3 win

MONTREAL -- Cole Caufield needed something, anything, to change his fortunes and get out of his postseason scoring funk.

Who knew it would come from halfway around the world?

The Montreal Canadiens forward, who scored an NHL career-high 51 times during the regular season, had just one goal through the first nine games of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. And he must have felt as if he might never score again after missing a couple of open nets early in the second period of Montreal’s 6-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Sunday.

So, imagine his relief when he finally put the puck into the net and gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at 6:05 of the second period, a lead they would not relinquish.

“Obviously, it feels good,” Caufield said. “But yeah, the team’s been winning and guys have been stepping up, and that’s been really big for me.

“I’ve just tried to be a good teammate and do what I can do to help the team win. Everybody’s been kind of picking me up, so it feels good to get one.”

When he finally did, he raised his arms and peered up into the stands at Bell Centre.

Maybe he was looking for his good luck charms named Perry Linton, a resident of Australia’s Gold Coast, and Elisa Verdy, a Montrealer who moved down under more than a year ago to be with him.

“Basically, I would teach her how to surf,” Perry said. “We’d basically surf in the morning, go to the beach and then we basically would come home and turn on the Habs. She taught me all about hockey and the Habs, and I basically began falling in love with the game and with them.”

Linton began posting about the Canadiens on social media.

“I got really into it, and I started making videos on our journey and about hockey and it was just fun, just learning about it and enjoying the hockey," he said. "And it went off pretty crazy. In fact, I put up one video and Cole Caufield kind of commented on it, and then the Habs commented on it, and then Air Canada commented on it.”

The rest is history.

Air Canada flew the couple to Montreal, part of a 24-hour journey from Australia to Canada, and the Canadiens organized for them to get tickets to Game 3 against the Sabres on Sunday.

All the while, Caufield was sending them messages.

After the Canadiens' victory, which gave them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series, the two were in the media room for the press conferences of both Caufield and coach Martin St. Louis. Once those were over, St. Louis eagerly came over and posed for a number of photos.

“I’m speechless,” Linton said. “My first playoff game. I’m surprised I have a voice left. That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”

Topped off by Caufield’s goal.

“I told everybody Cole was going to score tonight,” he said with a laugh.

After that prognostication, Caufield might want to keep these two in North America for a while.

At least as long as the Canadiens are in the playoffs, anyway.