Marc Dumont
There’s no doubt Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield is among the best goalscorers in the NHL, as evidenced by the fact that he reached the 40-goal mark on Tuesday night.
By doing so, Caufield became the first Habs player to hit that mark since Vincent Damphousse, way back in 1993-94.
This gives us a perfect opportunity to take a closer look at how Caufield has scored this year, not to mention a bevy of other impressive statistics powering his fantastic season.
Suzuki Chemistry
Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has assisted on 20 of Caufield’s 40 goals, a testament to the undeniable chemistry they have built over the course of the last few seasons. To make matters more interesting, 16 of those 20 assists were of the primary variety.
In other words, if Caufield scores a goal, you can be certain Suzuki is not far behind.
It should also be noted phenom Lane Hutson has assisted on 14 of Caufield’s goals, while newcomer Noah Dobson has registered his name on the scoresheet on 13 occasions.
Other Canadiens players who have assisted on a Caufield scoring play: Juraj Slafkovsky (5), Mike Matheson (5), Ivan Demidov (3), Zachary Bolduc (2), Alexandre Texier (2), Alexandre Carrier (2), Jayden Struble (2), Jake Evans (1), and Kirby Dach (1).
Atlantic Threat
Caufield loves playing against particular divisional foes.
It turns out that 15 of his goals have come versus the Atlantic Division, with the Boston Bruins serving as his preferred target (6).
The Buffalo Sabres (4), Ottawa Senators (3), Florida Panthers (1), and Toronto Maple Leafs (1) account for the remaining goals, as he is yet to score against the Detroit Red Wings or Tampa Bay Lightning this season.
Even Strength Production
It should be noted 25 of Caufield’s goals have come at 5v5, which is the third-best result in the NHL. Only Tage Thompson (26) and Nathan MacKinnon (28) have produced more goals in that situation.
He’s also scored 5 goals in overtime, making him the most successful goalscorer in the league at 3v3.
When we account for every goal scored at even-strength, Caufield has found the back of the net 32 times, which is the second-highest result in the league, trailing only MacKinnon (36).
However, if we keep ice time in mind, Caufield leads the entire NHL in goals per 60 at even-strength, with 1.95.
Clutch Performer
Few players around the NHL are more valuable when the game is on the line.
To be more accurate, there are no players in the NHL who have clinched a game more often than Caufield. His 9 game-winning goals are tied for first, with veteran Steven Stamkos.
This means 22.5% of Caufield’s goals this season have been game winners, a truly impressive feat.
Another way of looking at it would be to say Caufield’s game-winning goals have directly led to 18 points in the standings.
Underlying Numbers
It’s one thing to score more frequently than 99.99% of the players in the NHL, but it’s also important to maintain strong underlying numbers.
That’s where Caufield’s excellence really comes into focus.
He leads the Canadiens in shot share (53.3%), he’s second on the team in goal share (60.9%), and he once again finds himself at the top of the mountain when evaluating expected goal share (55.8%).
To put it simply, not only is Cole Caufield one of the most impressive goalscorers in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens hold a significant edge in shots, scoring chances, and goals whenever he’s on the ice.
He truly epitomizes the concept that the best defence is a good offence.
All Cole Caufield statistics via Hockey Reference and Natural Stat Trick.
