As the New Orleans Pelicans head into a crucial period of the season, a refreshed Zion Williamson didn’t need a long scouting report to explain the impact of Dejounte Murray’s return to the lineup. The All-Star and longest-tenured player in the locker room needed only one word.

Smoothie King fans can feel it, too.

“Intensity,” Williamson emphasized. “The intensity that he’s bringing to the game, and not just in the game but in practice, is off the charts. It’s been great for this team. So, you know, to make a long story short, his intensity has produced stats for us.”

The numbers support Williamson. In his first 10 games, Murray averaged 18.7 points, 6.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.7% from the field and 34% from 3-point range.
New Orleans is 5-5 with Murray in the starting lineup, but 9-5 overall since his return, a stretch that has revived optimism around a franchise that spent most of the season searching for stability.

James Borrego has credited Murray’s presence with changing the team’s defensive identity.

“So we’re competing for more shots, there’s more physicality, and we have more size on the floor. We’ve put bigger, more athletic size on the floor,” Borrego explained. “We’re more switchable, and taking away the easy things.”

Borrego pointed to some of the league’s recent success stories as a blueprint, noting that lasting improvement starts with the defense.

“That’s one thing we said during the All-Star break and we discussed it with our team,” Borrego shared. “When you look at the teams that have really made significant leaps within a year or two, Detroit, Phoenix, you can go down the line, Houston, Boston, they’ve done it through their defense. Those top 10 teams that are moving the needle in the Western Conference, they’ve done it through their defense.”

With Murray back on offense, the Pelicans have leaned into that formula. His pace control and pressure on the ball has translated into more contested possession and fewer easy scoring opportunities for opponents. And if Williamson’s assessment is correct, the foundation is less about plan and more about tone.

Intensity, as it turns out, is contagious.

There’s no doubt that Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield is one of the best goalscorers in the NHL, as evidenced by the fact that he reached the 40-goal mark on Tuesday night.

In doing so, Coffield became the first Habs player to accomplish the feat since Vincent Damphousse in 1993–94.

This gives us the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at how Caufield has scored this year, not to mention other impressive statistics capping off his stellar season.

suzuki chemistry

Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has assisted on 20 of Caufield’s 40 goals, a testament to the undeniable chemistry they have built over the past few seasons. To make matters more interesting, 16 of those 20 assists were of the primary variety.

In other words, if Caufield scores a goal, you can be sure Suzuki isn’t far behind.

It should also be noted that phenom Lane Hutson has assisted on 14 of Caulfield’s goals, while newcomer Noah Dobson has got his name on the scoresheet on 13 occasions.

Other Canadiens players who have assisted on Caufield scoring games: Juraj Slafkowski (5), Mike Matheson (5), Ivan Demidov (3), Zachary Bolduc (2), Alexandre Texier (2), Alexandre Carriere (2), Jaden Struble (2), Jake Evans (1), and Kirby Dach (1).

atlantic threat

Caufield loves playing against special divisional foes.

It turns out that 15 of his goals have come against the Atlantic Division, with the Boston Bruins being his favorite target (6).

The Buffalo Sabers (4), Ottawa Senators (3), Florida Panthers (1), and Toronto Maple Leafs (1) account for the remaining goals, as he has yet to score against the Detroit Red Wings or Tampa Bay Lightning this season.

equivalent power output

It should be noted that 25 of Caufield’s goals have come at 5v5, which is the third-best result in the NHL. Only Tage Thompson (26) and Nathan MacKinnon (28) have scored more goals in that position.

He has also scored 5 goals in overtime, making him the most successful goalscorer on 3v3 in the league.

When we account for every goal scored at even-strength, Caufield has found the back of the net 32 ​​times, the second-highest result in the league, behind only MacKinnon (36).

However, if we take into account ice time, Caufield leads the entire NHL in goals per 60 at even-strength with 1.95.

clutch artist

Few players around the NHL are more valuable when the game is on the line.

To be more precise, there is no player in the NHL who has won games more times than Caufield. His 9 game-winning goals are tied for first with veteran Steven Stamkos.

This means that 22.5% of Caufield’s goals this season have been game winners, which is a truly impressive feat.

Another way to look at it would be to say that Caufield’s game-winning goals have gained 18 straight points in the standings.

underlying numbers

It’s one thing to score more often than 99.99% of players in the NHL, but maintaining strong underlying numbers is also important.

This is where Caulfield’s excellence really comes into focus.

He leads the Canadiens in shot share (53.3%), he is second on the team in goal share (60.9%), and he once again finds himself at the top of the mountain when evaluating expected goal share (55.8%).

Simply put, not only is Cole Caufield one of the most dominant goalscorers in the NHL, but he leads the Montreal Canadiens in shots, scoring chances and goals scored significantly whenever he is on the ice.

He truly embodies the concept that the best defense is a good offense.

All Cole Caufield stats via Hockey Reference and Natural Stat Tricks.

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a stir during trade season when they traded Darius Garland, an original member of the team’s core four, to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for James Harden. Harden is playing much more spectacularly than Garland this season, and he’s healthy, too. But an underappreciated part of bringing Harden in as a more consistent member of the starting lineup was unlocking the best from Jarrett Allen.

For almost his entire career, Harden has made life much better for his pick-and-roll partners. Clint Capela played his best basketball with Harden. Ivica Zubac did the same. And now, Allen is following suit. Since the Cavs brought The Beard in, Allen has averaged an impressive 20.4 points and 11.3 rebounds on 76.7 percent shooting from the field – numbers, suffice it to say, are absolutely insane.

The Cavs have been playing exceptional basketball lately, and Allen’s improved play as a result of Harden’s arrival is a big reason why. Cleveland sped up its competitive deadline by bringing in Harden, but this move seems smart given the early returns.

Allen had another double-double, 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Cavs’ 109-94 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.

James Harden makes life easy for the Cavs

If there’s one thing Harden has going for him, it’s that his track record of excellence in the regular season is nearly unmatched. He is a regular season winning machine, and the Cavs have been humming since they brought him in via trade.

Harden reduced the burden on offense on Donovan Mitchell. He should make life easier for Alan and Evan Mobley in terms of getting good looks. And he reduced the need for Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson to rely on more inconsistent players to try to partner with Mitchell in the backcourt.