Canadiens' Cole Caufield breaks his silence on Team USA 4 Nations Face-Off roster snub

Cole Caufield broke his silence on being left off Team USA’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off during a press conference on Sunday. The tournament, scheduled for Feb. 12–20, will feature a mix of experienced players and young talent. Big names like Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk headline the roster.

The roster includes two sets of brothers: Jack and Quinn Hughes, and Brady and Matthew Tkachuk. Several NHL teammates, including Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox from the New York Rangers, also made the team.

However, some players who seemed likely to make the cut were omitted, including Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield. Addressing his non-selection, Caufield remained composed, saying:

“Honestly, it’s been a couple of days. I am kinda over it.” Caufield added, “Obviously going to keep working doesn’t change much for me. Will still be cheering them too.” (0:25 mark)

When asked if Team USA provided clarification, Caufield avoided criticism.

“I am not really going to comment on that,” he said (0:46 mark). “They got tough decisions to make too. So at the end of the day, it is what it is. I’m still going to keep playing and do my thing.”

Cole Caufield’s absence underscores the tough decisions Team USA faced while finalizing its roster. U.S. General Manager Bill Guerin expressed confidence in the selected group.

“You look at the names that are on the screen right now like, this is an incredible group,” Guerin said via (NHL on TNT on Wednesday). "There are a lot of difficult decisions along the way, but that comes with the territory. This is the group that we feel is going to give us the best chance to win.”

Fans will now look forward to seeing how the roster performs in this best-on-best tournament.

Montreal Canadiens lose to Capitals despite Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield providing early lead

The Montreal Canadiens lost 4-2 to the Washington Capitals on Saturday at Bell Centre. Alex Newhook opened the scoring for Montreal with a wrist shot in the first period, followed by Cole Caufield capitalizing on a turnover to double the lead.

Despite the strong start, the Canadiens struggled in the third period, conceding four goals. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored a goal in the second period, followed by Tom Wilson scoring twice and Dylan Strome adding a power-play goal.

"They’re a good team, and I think if we capitalize on our scoring chances, we’d get a better result." Nick Suzuki said per NHL.com.

Sam Montembeault made 31 saves for the Canadiens.