Cole Caufield scored a hat trick and added two assists because the Montreal Canadiens crushed the New York Islanders 7-3 in a heated, playoff-like affair Saturday evening.
Juraj Slafkovsky had two targets and two assists whereas Nick Suzuki supplied 4 helpers — reaching 61 on the season — on a dominant night for the Canadiens’ prime line.
Kaiden Guhle added one purpose and two assists, and Alex Newhook additionally scored for Montreal (38-21-10). Jacob Fowler made 19 saves.
Emil Heineman, Simon Holmstrom and Matthew Schaefer replied for New York (39-26-5), which misplaced its second straight recreation.
Ilya Sorokin allowed six targets on 32 photographs earlier than he was pulled halfway by the third interval. David Rittich turned apart three of 4 photographs in aid.
The Canadiens entered Saturday third within the Atlantic Division with 84 factors in 68 video games, whereas the Islanders sat as the primary crew outdoors the playoff image — with 83 factors by 69 video games — in a good Japanese Convention.
Rookie-of-the-year favorite Schaefer’s one-timer from the purpose beat Fowler to tie the sport 45 seconds into the third interval. Then the Canadiens responded with 4 unanswered.
Guhle restored the lead when his shot from distance deflected off ahead Marc Gatcomb and into the web at 3:17.
Slafkovsky then put the Canadiens forward 5-3 at 8:08, prompting a refrain of “Olé, Olé” chants on the Bell Centre, earlier than Caufield chased Sorokin with a shot between the goalie’s pads at 11:20. Hats rained down on the ice when the American winger buried his forty third of the season at 14:59.
Slafkovsky opened the scoring 4:10 into the primary interval, hammering a one-timer on the ability play.
Heineman answered with the man-advantage at 6:46 earlier than Holmstrom capitalized on a breakaway at 13:19 to offer the Islanders a 2-1 lead heading into the primary intermission — regardless of being outshot 17-6.
As huge hits and post-whistle scrums elevated within the second interval, Newhook lit up the gang with a one-timer off Guhle’s high-to-low feed at 17:49. Caufield scored 79 seconds later for a 3-2 lead.
TAKEAWAYS
Canadiens: Outscored some expensive errors on an evening they drove the play. Pointless penalties from Guhle and Brendan Gallagher, and a turnover from Lane Hutson, led on to New York’s three targets.
Islanders: Heineman reached 20 targets for the primary time in his profession, scoring excessive glove aspect with a depraved wrist shot in opposition to his former crew. The Canadiens traded the 24-year-old Swede to the Islanders final summer time in a bundle for defenceman Noah Dobson.
KEY MOMENT
Caufield obtained a go close to the purpose line, skated towards Sorokin and calmly snuck a short-side shot into the top-left nook for his first of the evening.
KEY STAT
Caufield scored his twenty fifth go-ahead purpose on the season, tying Joe Sakic, John LeClair and Cam Neely for the fourth-highest single-season complete in NHL historical past. Brett Hull tops the checklist with 39 in 1990-91.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
Canadiens: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed March 21, 2026.