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Cole Caufield’s checking strategy needs to be reviewed according to Dany Dubé

Cole Caufield is certainly not known for his physical game. It’s his goals and skill with the puck that have earned him a place in the NHL. Yet, since the start of the season, he’s been giving away some shoulder shots, and some pretty solid ones at that.

RDS and 98.5’s Dany Dubé addressed the issue in his column during the second intermission of last night’s game. He asked about this aspect of Caufield’s game and then talked about the team in general.

Dubé drew a parallel with the pucks taken away from the opponent with the stick (commonly known as “takeaways”). Caufield’s ratio is heavily tilted towards takeaways.

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The analyst compared Caufield’s statistics with those of Jack Hughes and Clayton Keller, two players with similar builds to his. They have only two and one checking respectively. On the other hand, they are much better with their sticks.

Dubé then compared the CH’s situation to Caufield’s ratio. The Golden Knights are at the opposite end of the spectrum, and that’s what Dubé likes.

For my part, I don’t think Caufield’s checking is a problem. He’s making his mark in the NHL and some of his rivals are trying to break him. He’s strong enough despite his size, and it shows. I have no problem with him imposing himself from time to time (he has eight checks).

On the other hand, Caufield could be better at taking the puck away from opponents with his stick. On the rare occasions when he succeeds, he creates great scoring opportunities.

As for the team as a whole, yes, the CH could be better with their stick, but checking is another way of taking the puck away from opponents. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The CH’s problem lately is their inability to make good decisions in the defensive zone under pressure. This is where opponents take possession of the Tricolore’s zone for long seconds.

After that, it’s a series of mental errors that further pin the CH in its zone.

The checking vs. takeaways situation isn’t a problem for me, what is is the bad decisions and lost one-on-one battles.

In bursts

– Whew.

– The Rocket late again.

– Another one having a good season.

– Can’t wait to see him on the A.N.