(Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images)

The time is now for the up-and-coming Montreal Canadiens.

The NHL's hottest team rides into Saturday's clash with the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J. holding a league-best seven-game win streak, while sniper Cole Caufield will be looking to etch his name in the history books with his 50th goal of the season.

Caufield's two-goal performance helped Montreal (44-21-10, 98 points) cap off its undefeated four-game road trip with a 3-2 win over the lowly New York Rangers on Thursday.

The 25-year-old sniper is hoping to become the first Canadien to score 50 goals in a season since Stephane Richer tallied 51 back in 1989-90.

Caufield now sits just one goal behind Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon in the chase for the Rocket Richard trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer heading into Saturday's action.

Montreal's leading scorer laughed when he replied, 'no, but yeah' after being asked if he was thinking about the goal chase.

After the laughter settled down from Caufield and the media members, the Canadiens superstar added, 'We're focused on our team game and winning games, and I think individual stuff comes with that. Doing the right things, you get more chances and opportunities. Obviously it helps when you're winning games and stuff, but you'd be crazy not to obviously know what's going on around the league if you care.'

Alongside Caufield's four-game goal streak, Nick Suzuki has picked up three goals and five assists during his four-game point streak and has already surpassed his career-best with 94 points (27 goals, 67 assists) in 75 games this season.

Alex Newhook also scored and Jacob Fowler made 22 saves in Thursday's victory.

Montreal's recent resurgence has helped them creep back into the race for top spot in the Atlantic Division, sitting just two points behind the Buffalo Sabres and the Tampa Bay Lightning heading into Saturday.

As for the Devils (39-34-2, 80 points), the dreams of a division title or even a playoff berth have become a distant memory.

After finishing last season in third place of the Metropolitan Division, the 2025-26 season has been much more of a nightmare for New Jersey.

Despite the lack of playoff implications for the home side, the Devils picked up an impressive 7-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

Jack Hughes finished with two goals and three assists, Jesper Bratt piled up a goal and four assists and Dawson Mercer found the back of the net twice in the win.

'That's all we talk about,' Bratt remarked after being questioned about the importance of a strong finish to the season. 'Continue building the foundation. There's no quit here at all, and I think we're just excited to be together with this group and really continue working. We wanna end the season with winning all these games that are still here and prove to ourselves that we're a committed group.'

Captain Nico Hischier also extended his point streak to six games (two goals, seven assists) with a two-assist performance.

The Devils should be revelling in the opportunity to spoil the Canadiens' win streak and they have recent head-to-head history on their side leading into Saturday's matchup.

New Jersey has won each of the previous five clashes with Montreal and 17 of the last 21 meetings.

--Field Level Media