There were few bigger stories last year than the Montreal Canadiens and their Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final.
A big part of that was rookie Cole Caufield, who broke onto the scene scoring four goals and five points in Montreal's final 10 regular-season games, but he really took off in the playoffs. In 20 games, Caufield scored four goals and 12 points for the Habs, coming third in team scoring in the postseason.
But this season, he struggled to replicate much of that production. Under Dominique Ducharme this season, Caufield played 30 games, scoring just one goal and eight points. Since Ducharme was let go after a 7-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils earlier this month, Caufield’s production has taken off.
In six games under Martin St. Louis, Caufield has scored an impressive five goals and eight points — far and away, he’s been the most productive Hab leading in goals and points under the new coach.
On Tuesday’s episode of The Daily Faceoff Show, Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna dove into his shift in production.
Seravalli: “You take a look at the numbers here for Cole Caufield under Dominique Ducharme … (then) under Marty St. Louis … he looks more, Mike, like the player we thought we were going to see coming into the season leading as the Calder Trophy favorite. What have you seen from Cole Caufield that you like?”
McKenna: “I’ve seen him on the ice a lot more, Frank. I think that’s first and foremost. Cole Caufield before Marty St. Louis, he got stuff done in the minors for a while, but he was playing 14, 15 minutes and now he’s up in the 19-, 20-minute mark during games. It’s giving him a chance to grow back into the player we saw last year in the playoffs when he was so dynamic.
“If you’re Cole Caufield, you walk into the locker room and you see a head coach like Marty St. Louis that you can in some ways see a reflection in the mirror — somebody’s who is undersized and had to work for things.”
You can listen to the full episode below.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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