Cowfield had a tumultuous end to his season under interim coach Martin St. Louis. After scoring just one goal in his first 30 games of the rookie season, Cowfield finished with 23 as Canada’s top scorer. “It was frustrating, it was difficult,” Caufield said. “It’s hard to get negative feedback about you, but I think I learned a lot this year about perseverance, perseverance in it and finding yourself and my motivation. “A lot of outside noise can break you down and do a lot of things that can affect you.” “It’s very nice to be back where you feel you should be.” Cowfield completed his hat-trick at 8:12 of the third period and kept one of the hats as a souvenir. “[Brendan Gallagher] he told me to go get one and I just said ‘OK’, Caufield said. “I think it would be nice to look back one day.” At the 700th start of his career, Carey Price made 37 saves to record his first win of the season. Price’s last victory came in the 4th game of the Stanley Cup finals. “It means everything to us,” Caufield said of Price’s victory. “He is the backbone of our team, he is the guy you want to play for. Having him in the room every day was just something special and you just feel the energy it brings regardless of whether he is excited or not. “I think winning this game means a lot,” added St. Louis. “I put myself in his place, fighting with the way he played, the level he played in this league and he has his own expectations. The top guys in this league are very hard on themselves. So to end it like that, I’m very happy for him. “ As Tyler Pitlick scored Montreal’s tenth goal of the night, “Dude! Guy! The guy! “Chants rained down from the Bell Center beams in honor of the death of former Habs legend Guy Lafleur. “I think it’s crazy that we scored 10 goals tonight,” said Caufield. “You can’t fix these things, everything happens for a reason.” The meaning resonated on the other side of the ice, where even Panthers coach Andrew Brunette acknowledged the coincidence. “He was my dad’s favorite player and for a lot of people in that generation he was Guy,” Brunette said. “It’s a pity we lost him so early, but what a hockey player he was. You do not find many children, but I hope we do not give up 10. “ The Panthers will find solace in winning the trophy of the presidents. Brunette and his team will try to shake off the double-digit defeat and focus on the Washington Capitals they will face in the first round. “We still have our eyes on the biggest prize and this team was very good at holding it every day and moving on,” he said. Brunette has argued that his team has veterans like Joe Thornton who understand what it takes to reach the playoffs, but being a league champion has its weight. Since the 2000-01 season, only three teams have won both the President Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season. The Detroit Red Wings are the only team to do it twice. “It will be a goal and there will be any kind of discussion,” Brunette said. “It probably never was the No. 1 seed in a long time and these are all different things we have to deal with.” Jonas Johansson had a difficult night in the office allowing 10 goals from 37 shots. Jordan Harris scored his first goal of his career from the spot with the first shot of the night. Mike Hoffman hit a loose foul on the side to give the Hubs two goals. Caufield then fired a shot into the wrist to give Montreal three points. Gallagher added a power-play to give Montreal a 4-0 lead. The Panthers reduced their deficit to three when Ben Chiarot scored in power play at 18:23 in the first period. Cowfield matched his jersey number with his 22nd goal at 1:33. Perrault followed his fourth in the campaign. Pitlick connected with Jake Evans alone in front of the net at 6:08. Dvorak then scored Montreal’s eighth goal. Pitlick scored Montreal’s tenth goal of the night about two minutes later. Noel Acciari added a recent florist to Florida in a humiliating 10-2 defeat. This Canadian Press report was first published on April 29, 2022.
