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Cole Caufield: Only five goals in the 24 games that Patrik Laine has played
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As we know, Caufield is known for scoring goals.

He started the season strong: he had 10 goals in his first 11 games, including six goals in the last six games of that stretch.

But for some time now, it’s been more difficult for the American, especially since the arrival of Patrik Laine.

In Laine’s 24 games, Caufield has only scored five goals… And since Laine returned from his illness in early January, Caufield has only two goals.

In Renaud Lavoie’s daily segment on BPM Sports, he talked (among other things) about Caufield’s slump.

During his segment, Max Lalonde actually asked Lavoie if it was a coincidence that Caufield was more dangerous when Laine wasn’t around.

In response, the renowned insider specified that at five-on-five, there’s no difference, as they do not play together and Laine does not take minutes away from CC13.

However, he added that on the power play, it’s completely different, as Caufield has been switched to a different position with Laine’s arrival.

Caufield’s contribution on the power play at the start of the season was significant (4 power play goals in his first 10 games). He actually had seven goals on the power play before the Finn played his first game with the Canadiens.

But since Patrik Laine’s return to play on December 3, Caufield has not scored a single time on the power play.

In fact, it’s even worse than that, Caufield hasn’t scored in that situation since November 27…

And the fact that Laine and Caufield are on the same power play unit is clearly affecting his production.

He is not playing in the same position, he is shooting less often, and therefore he doesn’t have as many chances as he did at the beginning of the season.

Renaud Lavoie even gave advice on how to improve the power play: move more and circulate the puck better.

It’s not crazy, because the Canadiens are too predictable. But personally, I think maybe we should consider separating the two sharpshooters on the first power play unit.

Going by merit, Laine should logically be moved down to the second unit. Putting Dach in his place could not only help Dach get back on track (even if he doesn’t deserve it), but it would also ensure having an excellent scorer on each unit.

With Demidov’s arrival next season, we will need to make room for him on the first power play eventually, as he will be a key player. Until then, we need to make changes or significantly practice the power play.

Let’s see what Martin St-Louis has in mind for the rest of the season.


In Brief

– Bob Hartley believes that Dach simply is not a center player.

– The Flyers will clearly want to bounce back tonight.

– A must read.

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