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Caufield is one point behind Suzuki: It really is time to start talking about #13’s season
Marc-Olivier Cook
Caufield is one point behind Suzuki: It really is time to start talking about #13’s season
Credit: Getty Images

I find that we don’t talk enough about Cole Caufield.

Last year, we all criticized him because we expected more from him. Yet, he finished the 23-24 season with his best career numbers, both in goals (28) and points (65).

This is not trivial.

But this year, we see a different Cole Caufield.

The young forward has claimed a total of 43 points in 44 games since the beginning of the season, and it shows that he has improved his game without the puck.

Eric Engels is right to point this out on Twitter.

I want to give some love to #13. Are you ready?

Here we go!

Caufield has scored 18 points, including seven goals, in the last 16 games (since December 12).

He is the leading scorer for the Canadiens since then, with Hutson (17 points) and Suzuki (16 points) closely following.

Caufield ranks 31st among the top scorers in the entire NHL.

Last year, after 44 games, he had only 33 points… and was ranked 85th among the league’s most productive players.

Caufield has scored 24 goals on 130 shots since the start of the season. His shooting percentage is 18.5%.

Last year, after 44 games, Caufield scored 14 goals on 159 shots. His shooting percentage was 8.8%.

There is a clear improvement as evident as rock water in his game, and it’s beautiful to see. It was reasonable to think that Laine’s arrival might cause him some issues (especially in the power play)… But that is not the case.

Both are capable of co-existing on the ice, and both can be productive on the power play even while playing together, which is interesting.

They seem to get along well, too:

But what stands out is when we see Caufield being so good five-on-five. 32 of his 43 points this season have been scored at even strength (he leads the Habs in that area as well), and that changes the game because he is constantly dangerous right now.

This wasn’t always the case during the last campaign.

All this to say, there is no one in town who can be disappointed with Tit-Cole’s performance right now.

He is playing up to his talent level, scoring important goals… And we see how important he has been in Martin St-Louis’s lineup since the beginning of the season.

It feels good because we know how much he has the tools to become one of the (very) good players in the NHL.

He is only 24 years old, after all!


In brief

– Oh. Reinforcements in Edmonton.

– Good point.

– Colleague Maxime Truman asked questions to Prince Owusu and Samuel Piette today. Here are the highlights:

– Anyway.

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