Caufield, the least well fed of the best scorers

Cole Caufield finds himself among the best scorers in the National Hockey League (NHL), despite being one of those with the least support from his teammates.

Recent data compiled by Sportlogiq shows that the Montreal Canadiens winger does not have a center player who provides him with enough scoring chances. Even though he spends the majority of his time in the company of Nick Suzuki, Caufield tends to create his own luck.

The Canadian captain provides 1.3 passes in the slot to Caufield per 20 min. Among the maverick’s five most common linemates, Suzuki ranks fourth at this level.

So, the player who seems to best complement Caufield is Jake Evans. They only spent 53:31 on the ice together, but the center completed 1.71 passes in the slot to his teammate.

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Still, those numbers barely compare with other top scorers in the NHL. Sam Reinhart (18 goals) is complemented by Aleksander Barkov (2.37 passes in the slot per 20 min), Brayden Point (16) is supported by Nikita Kucherov (3.12) and Leon Draisaitl (17) has Connor McDavid (2.86) alongside him.

These are obviously elite passers in the Bettman circuit, a group that Nick Suzuki is not a part of despite all his talent and effort. An elite shooter, Caufield surprises goalkeepers with his lively shots, which isn’t a bad thing either.

Thanks to his two goals in Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins, the 23-year-old has 16 in 24 games. At this rate, he could cross the plateau of 40 nets and maybe even that of 50.