Caufield, Suzuki at it again in Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime win over Predators

By Canadian Press on October 16, 2025.

MONTREAL — Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield’s closeness on and off the ice continues to pay dividends for the Montreal Canadiens.

The pair connected in overtime Thursday night, Suzuki finding Caufield in the slot with just two seconds to play in the extra session to lead the Canadiens to a 3-2 win over the visiting Nashville Predators at the Bell Centre.

“You got to cherish these moments,” said Caufield, who also scored the game-tying goal with just 19.5 seconds to go in the third period to force overtime. “Nick’s obviously a special player and a great friend of mine. Hopefully, there’s many more of those to come.”

“He knows where to go to put himself in a good spot and he did,” added Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson, who collected two assists in the game. “He had a nice shot. He has the confidence in himself to make that play and make it pretty often, too. If he takes that shot 100 times out of 100, the results would be pretty good.”

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis was part of a pretty fine duo himself in Tampa Bay, riding shotgun alongside centreman Vincent Lecavalier. Therefore, he can appreciate the bond shared by Caufield and Suzuki, one that extends far beyond the playing surface.

“They’re really close on and off the ice,” said St. Louis. “Relationships start often off the ice. They are fun to watch. They built chemistry together pretty quickly, especially offensively. What impresses me most is how complete these players are in addition to being dangerous offensively.”

Caufield’s overtime winner, his second in as many games, was his tenth career goal scored past regulation time. It tied a franchise record held by Howie Morenz and the recently-retired Max Pacioretty.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Caufield about the record. “It’s a lot of overtimes we’re playing in. That’s ten wins, so that’s good.”

The Canadiens improved to 4-1-0 on the young season with the win over the Predators. It’s already a sharp contrast from Montreal’s difficult start of a season ago, one which saw the team lose 11 of its first 15 games.

“The way we’re playing, we’ve put ourselves in a good spot,” said St. Louis. “It feels great, especially early in the season, to keep that confidence up. The guys are believing in how we want to play and there’s no quit.”

The team is not letting their early season success, though, get to their heads, understanding full well there are still 77 regular-season games to be played and areas in their game they still need to clean up.

“I think if you ask any one of us we’d like to keep the game to 60 minutes and not keep doing this to ourselves,” said Caufield. “We’re a team that likes to battle and we’re never out of a game.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.

Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press