Fans of the Montreal Canadiens have been not so patiently waiting for the arrival of Cole Caufield to the NHL.
 
Fortunately for general manager Marc Bergevin, one of his veteran off-season additions at least temporarily shifted the focus away from Caufield Watch 2021 on Wednesday night.
 
Josh Anderson scored twice to lead the Canadiens (+125) to a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
 
Anderson, who had just one goal in his previous eight games, provided the spark the Habs new first line needed to get the team back in the win column.
 
With Bergevin unable to fit Caufield’s salary cap hit into his lineup, the pressure is certainly building on the Canadiens to find ways to score goals without their top prospect.
 
Wednesday night’s win marked just the second time in 11 games that Montreal scored at least four goals.
 
It doesn’t change that Habs fans want to see Caufield in a Canadiens sweater sooner rather than later.
 
However, the fact that the Habs likely won’t climb any higher or fall any lower in the standings might help shift the focus to a potential playoff debut for the club’s top prospect.
 
Here is the Morning Coffee for Thursday April 22, 2021.
 
Anderson Shines For Habs
 
With Brendan Gallagher on long-term injured reserve, Anderson has fit in nicely next to Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar on the Habs’ new first line. 

Scoring has been the biggest issue for Montreal over the past few weeks, but that top line did just enough for them to get back in the win column in Edmonton.
 
Artturi Lehkonen and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Habs.
 
Jake Allen made 22 saves for just his fourth win in his last 15 appearances. With Carey Price sidelined, the Habs will continue to ride Allen with Cayden Primeau in the mix as the backup.   
 
Montreal improved to 4-14-7 when allowing three goals or more this season. The Habs are 16-2-2 when they allow two goals or fewer.

Montreal is still seven points back of the Oilers for third in the North Division.
 
The Canadiens are also eight points up on the Calgary Flames for the division’s final playoff spot.
 
With the Habs likely locked into that fourth seed, it will be very interesting to see what kind of urgency they play with over the final few weeks leading into the playoffs.
 
Raptors Extend Win Streak
 
Pascal Siakam scored a team-high 27 points with nine rebounds as the Toronto Raptors (-115) beat the Brooklyn Nets 114-103 on Wednesday night.

Toronto has won four straight to match its longest win streak of the season and remain within reach of a play-in game.
 
As of Thursday morning, the Raptors are +610 to make the final eight in the Eastern Conference after any possible play-in tournament has concluded.
 
Toronto is -1000 to finish 11th or worse in the standings or lose a play-in game.

In terms of chasing a top-10 spot, it didn’t help that Stephen Curry’s streak of 11 straight games with 30 points or more for the Golden State Warriors ended in a 118-114 loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
 
Curry went 2-of-14 from beyond the arc and was ultimately held to 18 points on 7-of-25 from the field in the loss.
 
Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists for his 173rd-career triple-double in the win.

Westbrook is now just eight back of Oscar Robertson for the all-time record for triple-doubles. 
 
Washington is +270 to reach the final eight in the Eastern Conference compared to -355 to finish outside of the top-10 or lose in a play-in game.
 
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks remain the hottest teams in the NBA following a 122-119 overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
 
Julius Randle scored 40 points with 11 rebounds and six assists. R.J. Barrett had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
 
The Knicks have won eight in a row – their longest win streak since 2014.
 
They’ve also covered the spread in 11 in a row.