Caufield scores with 15 seconds left, Canadiens recover to defeat Wild

MONTREAL -- Cole Caufield scored with 15 seconds remaining in the third period to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 win against the Minnesota Wild at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Caufield gave Montreal its third and final lead when he one-timed a pass from Nick Suzuki past Jesper Wallstedt’s glove from the top of the right face-off circle.

“We just found a way to keep the puck alive, and luckily it went in,” Caufield said. “That’s why you play the full 60 or 65, whatever it is. They all count the same, but it feels good to get two points tonight.”

Lane Hutson had a goal and an assist, Phillip Danault and Alexandre Carrier scored, and Ivan Demidov had two assists for Montreal (28-15-7), which has won two straight. Jakub Dobes made 16 saves

“All our guys played the right way,” Hutson said. “We played a deep game, won a lot of puck battles, and it paid off. I think we played a really good game all around.”

Vladimir Tarasenko had two power-play goals, and Brock Faber also scored for Minnesota (28-14-9), which had won two straight, including 6-3 at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello each had two assists, and Wallstedt made 29 saves

“A point would have been huge,” Faber said. “Back-to-backs, like that, obviously getting it into overtime would have given us a chance to get two points. I think that one sucked at the end, that last shift. He’s [Caufield] the most dangerous player on the ice, and I’ve got to close harder there. That’s what he does. He scores big goals. It would have been great to give ourselves a chance to earn the two points in overtime.”

“'Wally' played great, kept us in it all night,” Faber said. “They’ve got a fast hockey team, every single guy can skate and move. It’s hard to win here in this building. We didn’t have our best tonight. I thought we pushed back well at times and gave ourselves a chance.”

Tarasenko, who had two goals and an assist on Monday, gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 10:44 of the first period. He received a pass from Zuccarello and snapped it stick side on Dobes from the top of the right face-off circle.

Danault tied it 1-1 at 15:22, batting the rebound of Kaiden Guhle’s point shot between Wallstedt’s pads. It was his first goal since March 30, 2025, when he played for the Los Angeles Kings (52 games).

Carrier put Montreal ahead 2-1 at 19:08 when he tipped Mike Matheson’s shot from the point while crossing through the lane. It was his fourth goal in five games.

Faber tied it 2-2 at 10:16 of the second period. He tipped Vinnie Hinostroza’s shot from the left point past Dobes after it was first deflected by Kaprizov.

Hutson gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead at 12:35, scoring on a one-timer from low in the right face-off circle off a pass from Demidov.

“I called for it once and I knew he had seen me,” Hutson said. “He’s so good at reading the play and putting the puck in a good spot for me, so it was a really nice pass.”

Tarasenko tied it 3-3 at 12:40 of the third period with his second power-play goal of the game, scoring from the right side of the net seven seconds after a 5-on-3 advantage ended.

“I think we played the game a little bit more north south,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I thought our puck decisions were a lot better. We forced them to defend a little bit more. So, we understood what was going on in the game. It was our job to get ourselves back to give ourselves a chance, and I really liked the fact that we dug in and we did that.”

NOTES: Tarasenko is the fourth player in Wild history to score multiple goals on consecutive days. … It was Caufield’s 21st game-winning goal in the third period or overtime since his debut in 2020-21. The only players with more such goals over that span are Leon Draisaitl (28), Sebastian Aho (28), Sidney Crosby (23) and Steven Stamkos (23). … Canadiens forward Kirby Dach played 16:46 and had two shots on goal in his first game since he broke his foot on Nov. 15.