The Canadian | Sunday potpourri

From Alex Newhook’s statistics to Cole Caufield’s shots, here are some loose notes on the last days in the Canadian’s entourage.

Dach, Newhook and the differential

Those who feared that Kirby Dach would not immediately return to his former levels now have their answer. In six games, the big center has been limited to just one point, and it was on the very first goal of the season. He obtained this point on a numerical advantage, so that with equal strength, the counter still displays zero.

Dach also has a differential of -8, which gave him, before Sunday’s games, the unenviable last place in the NHL, which he shares with Colton Sissons and Michael McCarron, of the Predators.

Under the circumstances, Alex Newhook practically looks like a collateral victim. He displays his usual competitiveness, but also has only one point, a goal scored at even strength. His differential of -7 does not embellish the picture, but perhaps his case also illustrates the imperfections of this statistic.

“I don’t give it too much importance,” Newhook said Saturday afternoon, before the game against the Islanders. I think two goals were scored when I was on the ice for five seconds. There were shots from the point. That’s an interesting statistic. It can tell you things, but it doesn’t tell you everything. »

On October 14, Newhook had just set foot on the ice, replacing Cole Caufield, when Lars Eller scored.

On October 17, against the Kings, he ended his evening at -3. He was the victim of an empty net goal (however, it was he who lost the faceoff in the offensive zone). On another goal, Christian Dvorak lost the faceoff, the puck went to the opposite side of Newhook and seven seconds later, Mikey Anderson scored.

Finally, on Saturday, he fell back with energy, so much so that he was the last defense since Jayden Struble had been caught on the wrong foot. Newhook found himself defending from behind, a situation in which attackers rarely seem comfortable.

It will be interesting to see how long Martin St-Louis leaves the Dach trio intact.

Bold choices

Speaking of Dach, the fact that he was not chosen among the Canadiens’ nine shooters in Saturday’s shootout, despite his 3-for-5 record in the NHL, suggests that the coaches also see that the big 77 in tears.

It stood to reason that St. Louis would send Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki first. Since his arrival behind the bench, they have respectively come to the 11^e et 13^e ranks in the NHL (10 shots minimum) with 45% and 43.5% success.

The choice of Lane Hutson as third shooter is justified, knowing his skills on skates. But he comes from the NCAA, where shootouts are rare. In two years, his team (Boston University) went to a shootout three times; Hutson was unable to score on two attempts.

The use of rookies Oliver Kapanen and Emil Heineman was also surprising, but the two forwards scored the only goals for CH. Followed by Newhook (0 for 1 before this shot), Mike Matheson (0 for 2) and Juraj Slafkovsky (1 for 4). In his second NHL game, Logan Mailloux was sent last; in 2023-2024, he scored one goal in two attempts in Laval.

It is obviously easy to analyze such decisions after the fact. It’s also, let’s say it, much more pleasant.

The new danger zone

Caufield’s reaction to a question about the after-effects of his shoulder surgery sparked talk on Sunday.

Remember that the winger underwent an operation in February 2023, after which he went on to present his worst success rate on his shots (8.9%) in a season, whether in the NHL or the NCAA. Caufield nevertheless scored 28 goals, but he did so by getting into traffic more often in the middle of the offensive zone. In doing so, he rejected the label of peripheral player sometimes attached to snipers.

Regardless, Caufield started scoring from tight angles again, as shooters of his caliber do. This is especially evident from the left side of the offensive zone, where he likes to hang out marauding.

After six games, he already has more goals from the two zones near the left goal line than in 82 games last season, according to NHL EDGE data.

His success rate from these areas is also striking.

• 2022–2023 (before surgery): 4 goals on 24 shots (16.7%)
• 2023–2024: 3 goals on 66 shots (4.5%)
• 2024–2025: 4 goals on 6 shots (66.7%)

Caufield will obviously not maintain the current pace. But a return to the pace of two years ago will make it more dangerous, as long as it does not abandon the other paying zones.

When the student approaches – literally – the teacher

Lane Hutson’s 30:05 of playing time last Thursday did not constitute a record for a Canadian rookie.

The brand actually belongs to – as you might have guessed – Brett Clark. On October 27, 1997, the Saskatchewanian spent 31 min 25 s on the ice. Note, however, that this 1997-1998 season was the very first where usage time statistics were kept, so it is not an absolute record.

Hutson therefore holds the third brand in history, behind Clark and Stéphane Robidas. The same Robidas who is behind the CH bench as defenders coach, and who decides Hutson’s usage time.

For what it’s worth, Robidas had no idea he held the second mark in the club’s history. But when it was mentioned to him, he remembered the circumstances very well. “A match in Philadelphia,” he said without hesitation, regarding the duel of February 27, 2001. He also remembered being paired with Eric Weinrich, but the latter had been traded by the Canadian six days earlier. Everything suggests that Robidas was instead paired with Sheldon Souray, who also played 31 minutes.

To quote colleague and friend Simon-Olivier Lorange, that’s a good thing to say.