It is astonishing that five days before Christmas, before Wednesday's games, the Canadians are only three points behind the last place and are gaining access to the playoffs.
And not just because every victory this season has been associated with pain and misery. This is mainly because the team is pathetic in attack.
If you look at most offensive advanced stat categories, this is disastrous.
Photo Getty Images via AFP
The recipe for scoring goals
There has been a lot of talk about the Canadian's collective deficiencies on offense (read here). Here), last week, and the fact that its forwards ranked last in the NHL in goals scored.
This time we've decided to focus on the key individual ingredients of the ideal goal-scoring recipe.
What we see is that we wouldn't trust them with preparing New Year's Eve if it were the same as preparing a turkey.
There are several comparison tables below, but we'll tell you right away: according to the Sportlogiq robots, Montreal's best player in terms of completed passes toward the slot is 57th in the league.
Close your eyes for your own good
In other words, there are almost two players per team who are better than all CH players at a still-important component of an offense.
An ingredient that is a bit like stuffing a turkey.
That player is Nick Suzuki with 1.71 assists per game.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Additionally, aside from Suzuki and Cole Caufield, all other Canadian players should avoid looking at these stats provided to the Journal if they want to have a great holiday season.
Because they show that apart from the two good friends, no club member comes even close to the elite of the circle.
At least they are there
And if you bought a Caufield sweater at a high price or listened to his advice to our colleague Jonathan Bernier (read Here), and you've bet a few hundred dollars on a 50-goal season from the top scorer, don't despair.
Photo Martin Chevalier
With 8 goals in 31 games, the 50 mark will not be reached this season, but the small striker has not renewed his long and lucrative contract. He still smells the smell of blood in the net.
But if happiness presents itself as a gift, we would suggest asking for one this Christmas.
Because Caufield is among the top 20 players on the circuit in certain advanced statistical categories. He ranks 12th in shots on goal per game (3.9 average), compared to Sidney Crosby, and 17th in expected goals against (0.45).
He remains a notable threat.
Light years away
The same cannot be said for most of his teammates, with the exception of Suzuki, who is as far from the elite as we are from the North Pole.
As proof of this, Alex Newhook – who has been injured since November 30 – is Montreal's best in goals per game average.
A category dominated by Auston Matthews, who averages 0.85 points per game.
Photo Getty Images via AFP
Okay, Matthews' numbers seem like a Christmas miracle. But the tenth player in this category is Chris Kreider with 0.55.
Newhook has an average of 0.30. He is ranked 108th in the league.
In other words, as the biggest celebration of the year approaches, we're closer to the flute of champagne than the…Stanley Cup.
GOAL (average per game)*
1. Auston Matthews (GOAL) – 0.85
2. Brock Boeser (VAN) – 0.72
3. Zach Hyman (EDM) – 0.67
4. Kyle Connor (Win) – 0.65
5. Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 0.65
6. Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 0.60
7. David Pastrnak (BOS) – 0.59
8. Jack Hughes (NJ) – 0.58
9. Sam Reinhart (FLO) – 0.58
10. Chris Kreider (NYR) – 0.55
108. Alex Newhook (MTL) – 0.30
AIDS
1. Connor McDavid (EDM) – 1.15
2. Cale Makar (COL) – 1.07
3. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) – 1.04
4. Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 1.03
5. Jack Hughes (NJ) – 0.96
6. Adam Fox (NYR) – 0.95
7. Quinn Hughes (VAN) – 0.94
8. JT Miller (VAN) – 0.94
9. Noah Dobson (NYI) – 0.90
10. Artemi Panarin (NYR) – 0.90
59. Nick Suzuki (MTL) – 0.58
POINTS
1. Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 1.68
2. Connor McDavid (EDM) – 1.58
3. Jack Hughes (NJ) – 1.54
4. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) – 1.52
5. Artemi Panarin (NYR) – 1.45
6. William Nylander (GOAL) – 1.43
7. David Pastrnak (BOS) – 1.41
7. Cale Makar (COL) – 1.41
9. Auston Matthews (GOAL) – 1.37
10. Mikko Rantanen (COL) – 1.26
74. Nick Suzuki (MTL) – 0.84
EXPECTED GOALS
1. Zach Hyman (EDM) – 0.67
2. Auston Matthews (GOAL) – 0.65
3. Jake Guentzel (PIT) – 0.64
4. Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 0.59
4. Brock Boeser (VAN) – 0.59
6. John Tavares (GOAL) – 0.57
6. David Pastrnak (BOS) – 0.57
8. Brady Tkachuk (OTT) – 0.52
9. Valeri Nishushkin (COL) – 0.51
10. Mikko Rantanen (COL) – 0.50
17. Cole Caufield (MTL) – 0.45
Penalties
1. David Pastrnak (BOS) – 5.45
2. Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 4.87
3. Brady Tkachuk (OTT) – 4.77
4. William Nylander (TOR) – 4.61
5. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) – 4.58
6. Jack Hughes (NJ) – 4.54
7. Auston Matthews (GOAL) – 4.52
8. Jack Eichel (LV) – 4.31
8. Artemi Panarin (NYR) – 4.31
10. Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 4.03
12. Cole Caufield (MTL) – 3.94
PICTURE SHOT FROM THE ENCLAVE
1. Auston Matthews (GOAL) – 3.26
2. John Tavares (GOAL) – 2.89
3. William Nylander (GOAL) – 2.61
4. Brock Nelson (NYI) – 2.60
5. David Pastrnak (BOS) – 2.59
6. Zach Hyman (EDM) – 2.56
7. Kyle Connor (Win) – 2.50
8. Jack Hughes (NJ) – 2.46
9. Brady Tkachuk (OTT) – 2.35
10. Jack Eichel (LV) – 2.25
30. Cole Caufield (MTL) – 1.9
Footage from the Enclave floor
1. Zach Hyman (EDM) – 2.30
2. John Tavares (GOAL) – 2.04
3. Auston Matthews (GOAL) – 1.70
4. Anders Lee (NYI) – 1.47
5. Joel Eriksson Ek (MIN) – 1.45
6. Brady Tkachuk (OTT) – 1.35
7. Brayden Point (TB) – 1.25
8. Jake Guentzel (PIT) – 1.23
9. Boone Jenner (CB) – 1.21
10. Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 1.13
31. Sean Monahan (MTL) – 0.94
ZONE ENTRY OPTIONS
1. Jack Hughes (NJ) – 2.04
2. David Pastrnak (BOS) – 1.55
3. Auston Matthews (GOAL) – 1.44
4. Jordan Kyron (STL) – 1.37
5. Connor McDavid (EDM) – 1.27
5. Connor Bedard (CHI) – 1.27
5. Travis Konecny (PHI) – 1.27
8. Artemi Panarin (NYR) – 1.21
9. Owen Tippett (PHI) – 1.17
10. Kyle Connor (Win) – 1.15
28. Cole Caufield (MTL) – 0.90
CHANCES OF RETURN
1. Zach Hyman (EDM) – 0.67
2. John Tavares (GOAL) – 0.57
3. Joel Eriksson Ek (MIN) – 0.55
4. Alex Tuch (BUF) – 0.48
5. Vincent Trocheck (NYR) – 0.45
6. Quinton Byfield (LA) – 0.41
7. Anders Lee (NYI) – 0.40
7. Robert Thomas (STL) – 0.40
9. Carter Verhaeghe (FLO) – 0.39
10. Filip Forsberg (NSH) – 0.39
34. Sean Monahan (MTL) – 0.29
COMPLETED passes to the Enclave
1. Connor McDavid (EDM) – 4.23
2. Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 4.03
3. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) – 3.81
4. Patrick Kane (DET) – 3.57
5. Mitch Marner (GOAL) – 3.54
6. Kirill Kaprizov (MIN) – 3.00
7. Jack Hughes (NJ) – 2.96
8. Clayton Keller (ARI) – 2.93
9. Artemi Panarin (NYR) – 2.86
10. Matthew Tkachuk (FLO) – 2.74
57. Nick Suzuki (MTL) – 1.71
OFFENSIVE ZONE POSSESSION
1. Connor McDavid (EDM) – 1min 18
2. Jack Hughes (NJ) – 1 minute 16
3. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) – 1min 14
3. Artemi Panarin (NYR) – 1 minute 14
5. Quinn Hughes (VAN) – 1 minute 13
6. Jack Eichel (LV) – 1 minute 11
6. Clayton Keller (ARI) – 1 minute 11
8. Matthew Barzal (NYI) – 1 minute 07
9. Nikita Kucheron (TB) – 1 minute 04
9. Leon Draisaitl (EDM) – 1:04
14. Nick Suzuki (MTL) – 0.57 mins
* All statistics were compiled by the company Sportlogiq before Tuesday's games. These are the averages per game.