Canadiens' Caufield named NHL's third star of the week behind Kucherov, Forsberg

Montreal Canadiens' Cole Caufield (13) scores against New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, March 21, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

NEW YORK — Montreal Canadiens right-winger Cole Caufield was named the NHL’s third star of the week on Monday.

Caufield, who is second in the league in goals (43), had four goals and four assists across three games, with Montreal winning twice.

The 25-year-old American scored his franchise-record 13th career overtime goal in a 3-2 triumph over the Boston Bruins last Tuesday and became the first Canadiens player to reach the 40-goal milestone in a single season since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94.

He concluded the week with his third career hat trick and first career five-point performance (the first by a Canadiens player since Feb. 26, 2019) in a 7-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Tampa Bay Lightning right-winger Nikita Kucherov was named first star after leading the NHL with six goals and seven assists in four appearances. Kucherov also moved into first in the NHL scoring race with 119 points (40 goals, 79 assists).

Nashville left-winger Filip Forsberg is the second star after collecting four goals and five assists in four games as the Predators enjoyed a perfect week. The 31-year-old became the sixth Swedish-born player in league history to score at least 350 career goals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2026.