Cole Caufield’s Impressive Scoring Pace
MONTREAL– With four goals in five games, sniper Cole Caufield is well on his way to leading the Montreal Canadiens in goal-scoring once again this season.
His reversal of fortunate since Martin St-Louis took over as the Canadiens’ head coach has been well documented, and now it’s time to take a look at some of the numbers powering Caufield’s torrid scoring pace.
5v5 Production: Since the coaching change on Feb.9, Caufield has scored 17 goals at 5v5, the third-most among all NHL players. Only Nathan MacKinnon (18) and Auston Matthews (21) have scored more goals
Room For Improvement: Unlike many star players, Caufield has not padded his overall stats with an abundance of power play production. The 21-year-old has only scored five powerplay goals over the last 42 games, leaving him tied for 40th in the league for goals scored with the man advantage.
Volume: Caufield took 90 shots on net at 5v5, tied with Johnny Gaudreau for 33th in the league.
Efficiency: By scoring 1.73 goals per 60 minutes of 5v5 ice time, Caufield is tied with Nathan MacKinnon for 5th overall in the league.
Projection: Caufield’s current season pace pro-rates to a 65-goal season, though it’s worth noting he’s also scored on 33% of his shots at 5v5 this season, which is an unsustainable percentage.
TOI: Caufield received 11 minutes and 42 seconds of average 5v5 ice time under Dominique Ducharme. Only three forwards received fewer opportunities: Artturi Lehkonen, Ryan Poehling, and Joel Armia.
That number has risen to 14 minutes and 02 seconds with St-Louis. Only two players have played more often: Nick Suzuki (15:03) and Josh Anderson (14:16).
Update: Cole Caufield can’t stop scoring 🔥 @CanadiensMTL pic.twitter.com/mXVCVZxVH8
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 20, 2022
Chaos: No.22 generated 42 high-danger scoring chances, as well as 12 rush attempts and 11 rebound opportunities for his teammates.
Good Company: If we include his power play production (5 goals) to his even-strength production* (21 goals), Caufield is tied with Johnny Gaudreau and Connor McDavid for 5th overall in the league in total goal scoring.
Process: Statistically speaking, most NHL players reach their scoring peak at 25 years old, leaving Caufield with almost four years worth of potential improvements to his overall production.
*Even-strength production includes 5v5, 4v4 and 3v3 situations.
(All statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via NaturalStatTrick)
