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Cole Caufield is leaving Connor McDavid in the dust on his way to NHL overtime history

ByBrandon Croce
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Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (13) looks on during warm-up before the game against the San Jose Sharks at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Montreal Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (13) looks on during warm-up before the game against the San Jose Sharks at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nick Suzuki made his return to the ice after missing the last six games due to injury. While the fans were excited to have him back for the Montreal Canadiens, Cole Caufield might have been the most excited, and these two picked up right where they left off.

Caufield would have the game-winner in overtime on a goal that Nick Suzuki had the primary assist. It not only gave the Canadiens the win, but it also set an impressive NHL record that neither Connor McDavid nor Alex Ovechkin were able to achieve.

The Canadiens forward would score his 15th overtime goal of his career in the win over the Utah Mammoth and needed 384 games to achieve that. McDavid is the next closest, and it took him 559 games, followed by Sebastian Aho at 645, and Alex Ovechkin needed 653 games to get his 15th overtime goal.

There is no question that this record has some level of chance to it as a player can't score an overtime goal if their team isn't in overtime. However, Caufield beating the record by almost 200 games (which equals about 2.5 regular seasons) certainly takes that talking point out.

In fact, when comparing all three players, Caufield had the most game-winning goals in a single season of any player. Last season, Caufield had 12, while the career-best for both McDavid and Ovechkin was 11.

Cole Caufield on pace for another 50+ goal season for the Montreal Canadiens

Last season, Cole Caufield set a career-high in goals with 51, and it was the first time since the 1989-90 season that the Canadiens had a player finish a season with 50 or more. While there is still a lot of hockey left this season, Caufield looks to be well on his way to making sure the Canadiens don't go another nearly 40 seasons without a player breaking 50 goals.

Right now, Caufield has 11 goals on the season for the Canadiens, and over an 84-game regular season, he is on pace to finish with 57 goals.

The question this season, though, is whether or not Caufield can score enough to bring the Rocket Richard Trophy finally back to Montreal. The trophy, named after Maurice "Rocket" Richard, is awarded to the player who leads the league in goals but it has never been won by a Montreal Canadiens player.

Last season, Caufield finished two goals behind Nate MacKinnon for the award but has put himself in a great position early to be in the discussion, as he is tied for fifth in the NHL in goals.

While it remains to be seen whether this will be the season Caufield wins the Rocket Richard Trophy, one thing is clear in that there may not be a better player to call game in overtime than Cole Caufield.

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