Canadiens Caufield And Suzuki Dominate NHL On The Left Side

Once upon a not-so-distant time, the Montreal Canadiens were all about Carey Price’s spectacular saves, but that’s no longer the case. On Monday, the NHL released an interesting graphic picturing the highest-scoring players in the league by areas on the ice, and the Habs have claimed two of the 12 areas.

Unsurprisingly, it’s captain Nick Suzuki and sniper Cole Caufield who lead the league in goals on the left side. Caufield scored five goals from the area nearer the net, where he has repeatedly shown just how good his hands can be when scoring in close this past season. As for Suzuki, he’s also scored five lamplighters from a bit higher in the zone and in close to the boards. The centre has indeed proved that he doesn’t need much of an angle to beat netminders.

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The list of dominant players in all areas is a who’s who of the best players in the NHL; Suzuki and Caufield are in excellent company. On the doorstep, Tyler Bertuzzi has scored nine goals for the Chicago Blackhawks; from the slot, Dallas Stars’ Wyatt Johnston has converted 27 times; from the right in close, Pavel Dorofeyev has beaten goalies seven times with the Vegas Golden Knights. On the left, around the faceoff circle, is Nathan MacKinnon’s territory; the Colorado Avalanche leader and Rocket Richard Trophy winner has scored 10 of his goals from there.

Macklin Celebrini has ruled the high slot with the San Jose Sharks, finding the back of the net 16 times from there. Around the faceoff dot on the right was Cutter Gauthier’s stomping ground; the Anaheim Ducks RFA has beaten goalies 11 times from there, while the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov has converted seven times from near the boards.

From the blueline on the left, it’s rookie of the year and New York Islanders gem Matthew Schaefer, who’s been the most productive with three goals; around the blueline in the middle of the ice, it’s the Lightning’s defenseman Darren Raddysh, who has shown the brightest with nine goals. On the right side of the blueline, the Avs’ veteran defenseman Brent Burns dominated with five lamplighters.

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Only three teams had two players on the graphic: the Habs, the Avs, and the Bolts, but only Montreal and Colorado have retained both of their players. When the puck drops on the new season, Raddysh will no longer be in Tampa; he’ll be patrolling the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blueline.