Little Cole’s big comeback

As the guys from HFTV(who we hosted on the Stanley25 podcast last week) so aptly sing: Caufield’s on fire!

After going six games without finding the back of the net – and scoring just one goal in 19 games – Cole Caufield has scored a goal in each of his last four games. He’s been on fire since the beginning of April.

He has effectively foiled Anthony Stolarz (Panthers), Matt Tomkins (Lightning), Ilya Samsonov (Maple Leafs) and Igor Shesterkin (Rangers). Here are the four goals in question, sorted chronologically:

#Habs Cole Caufield with wraparound goal vs #Panthers

Assists: Slafkovsky, Guhle#GoHabsGo #NHL #Hockey @RocketSports pic.twitter.com/muczm5Hpbl

– Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) April 3, 2024

#Habs Cole Caufield with shot for goal vs #Lightning

(looks like Anderson tipped it)

Assists: Xhekaj, Savard#GoHabsGo #NHL #Hockey @RocketSportspic.twitter.com/NUPMPHaGyp

– Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) March 3, 2024

#Habs Mike Matheson circles the net before finding Cole Caufield for one-timer goal vs #MapleLeafs

Assists: Matheson, Suzuki#GoHabsGo #NHL #Hockey @RocketSports pic.twitter.com/Sxbtse82aM

– Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) April 7, 2024

Cole Caufield scores in his fourth game in a row to give the Habs a 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/atR0HaYgoq

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 7, 2024

Two goals while shooting with first intention (on his first touch of the puck)…

One goal on a wraparound…

And another on an excellent quick shot, while on the move.

What’s the common denominator behind these successes? Simple: Caufield plays with confidence and wastes no time with the puck. When he did this earlier in the season – and didn’t shoot so much on the receiving end – the game too often closed down in front of his eyes. The NHL moves fast…

Caufield shoots/shoots, but…
Only seven players (stars) on the Bettman circuit have taken more shots than Caufield since the start of the season… two of them with just one more throw.

Caufield has 20 shots on net in his team’s last three games.

The problem is CC22 ‘s efficiency percentage on the shots he takes this season. There’s certainly a bit of bad luck and reaction time to explain that, as well as perhaps a bit of fitness (he’s coming back from surgery in particular) and “off-ice ” to complete the equation.

But right now, Caufield’s on fire. Everything seems to have changed since a few influential people started saying that the Suzuki – Slafkovsky duo was more interesting than the traditional Suzuki – Caufield pairing. Has Caufield been whipped up by all this? Or is it a coincidence?

One thing’s for sure: there’s reason to hope for the return of the real Caufield in 2024-25.

The only downside : seeing Caufield score so much in April, when his team – eliminated from the playoffs – is losing games, isn’t like scoring goals when the pressure is on. Talk to Ryan Poehling…

Except that it’s okay: the Habs are back in the bottom five and I don’t want that to change. #Lottery

ProlongationBeware

, it’s slippery!
I’m going to venture into a risky area: you know, sometimes, certain reports on what’s going on off the ice can serve as wake-up calls to certain people. I’m not saying that’s necessarily the case with Cole, but don’t you think it’s odd that Renaud Lavoie decided to come to Cole Caufield’s defense two months after news of the downtown condo, the Palma and the Marcus broke in you-know-where… and Caufield found himself on the ice?

The Cole Caufield I’ve been seeing on the ice for the past few games isn’t the same Cole Caufield I saw two or three months ago. And that’s the good news.

We’re witnessing the big comeback of the little Cole. And that’s what counts (literally).

How many goals will Caufield score in the team’s last five games? I say three, which would give him a total of 27. That would be a new personal best for him in the NHL, having scored 4, 23 and 26 in his first campaigns.

I would have said four or five, but the five games will be played over eight days in four different cities. #NotEvident