Caufield of the Canadiens scores the season-opening goal in honor of Gaudreau wearing number 13

Because of Johnny Gaudreau, Cole Caufield wore number 13 once earlier in his hockey career. Last month, he announced he would wear it again for the same reason after Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau were killed on August 29.

On Wednesday night at the Bell Centre, Caufield scored the Montreal Canadiens' first goal of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs while wearing number 13 on his back.

The Canadiens had the power play after Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins converted a sharp penalty against Juraj Slafkovsky. Montreal controlled possession in the offensive zone, with Mike Matheson playing Kirby Dach high up. Dach then fired a pass low to Slafkovsky on the left side of the net. Slafkovsky sent a pass across the crease and through traffic to Caufield, who one-timed the puck past Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz.

Caufield pointed to the sky as he ran to the bench to high-five his teammates.

When Caufield, 23, first announced he would be changing his jersey number from 22 to 13, he mentioned that he would get to play with his hero at the World Cup for Team USA.

“I was lucky enough to be Johnny's teammate this past summer and it didn't take me long to realize what a great person he was,” Gaudreau wrote in a Sept. 3 Instagram post. “He was the most welcoming and genuine.” He was the funniest guy I ever met and I took every opportunity to be around him. Not only was he a great hockey player and teammate, but he was also down to earth and genuinely cared about every person he met.

After Caufield's number change, Gaudreau's wife, Meredith Gaudreau, wrote on Instagram to acknowledge the act.

“John would be very honored,” wrote Meredith Gaudreau. “Cole was wearing my Gaudreau jacket home from an evening together in Ostrava during the World Cup.”

Caufield is 5'10″ tall while Gaudreau was 5'10″ tall, but both made it to the NHL and excelled despite being smaller than the average NHL player. Caufield scored 28 goals and 65 points in 82 games last season, and Wednesday's goal was the fourth time in three years he scored in his first game of the season against the Maple Leafs. He scored once last season and twice on October 12, 2022.

Get the latest news and trending stories straight to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by commenting Visit our forum.

Related: Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau's funeral was about love and family, not hockey