MONTREAL - Over the last three games, Phillip Danault won three faceoffs that led to the Canadiens lighting the lamp three times.

First off, Danault helped defenseman Brett Kulak score a short-handed marker during last Saturday's game against the Colorado Avalanche by winning a draw. It proved to be the game-winner.

Video: COL@MTL: Kulak rings in point shot while shorthanded

Danault has won more faceoffs in short-handed situations than any other player in the League with 99. Adam Lowry of the Winnipeg Jets ranks second with 77.

The Habs' centerman also won a key faceoff at the end of the game against the Avalanche that led to Jordie Benn capping the scoring with an empty-netter.

Video: COL@MTL: Benn seals game with empty-net goal

Monday night in Boston, Danault won another big faceoff in opposition territory to give the puck to Jeff Petry. The veteran defenseman let a good shot go that was deflected by Brendan Gallagher. That tied things up at the end of the first period against the Bruins.

Video: MTL@BOS: Gallagher tips in equalizer at the doorstep

Now that the regular season series against the Bruins is over, we can compare Danault's statistics in the faceoff circle against one of the best pivots in the League, Patrice Bergeron.

Danault and Bergeron only squared off twice during the 2018-19 campaign because an injury prevented the Bruins' star from appearing in the two other matchups against Montreal.

During the first tilt on October 27, Danault won eight of his 14 faceoffs against Bergeron, operating at a 57% clip. The Canadiens earned a 3-0 victory.

The Victoriaville native enjoyed similar success in Monday's 3-2 win in Massachusetts. He won nine of his 15 draws against Bergeron for a 60% success rate.

We can clearly see the correlation that exists between faceoffs and victories.

Another impressive statistic in Danault's case is that he has won 513 of the 1,391 faceoffs taken by Canadiens centermen. That means that Danault has won 36.88% of the club's draws on the year.

He ranks seventh in the League in that category, and is among elite company in that regard. The only players ahead of him are Bo Horvat, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Toews, Ryan O'Reilly, Anze Kopitar and Sidney Crosby.

That's proof positive that Danault is already a leader in his field.

Rank Player Team Faceoffs won Team faceoffs won Percentage of team faceoffs won 1 Bo Horvat VAN 611 1,360 44.92% 2 Aleksander Barkov FLA 600 1,381 43.45% 3 Jonathan Toews CHI 601 1,388 43.30% 4 Ryan O'Reilly STL 602 1,406 42.82% 5 Anze Kopitar LAK 573 1,437 39.87% 6 Sidney Crosby PIT 536 1,382 38.78% 7 Phillip Danault MTL 513 1,391 36.88% 8 Mika Zibanejad NYR 449 1,255 35.78% 9 Dylan Larkin DET 533 1,577 33.80% 10 Mark Scheifele WPG 476 1,416 33.62% 11 Travis Zajac NJD 460 1,386 33.19% 12 Nicklas Backstrom WSH 418 1,261 33.15% 13 Ryan Johansen NSH 498 1,529 32.57% 14 John Tavares TOR 467 1,451 32.18% 15 Ryan Kesler ANA 443 1,434 30.89%

The 25-year-old forward is in the midst of the best offensive season of his career. With his eighth tally of the season on Tuesday night against the Panthers at the Bell Centre, Danault matched his goal total from last season.

Video: FLA@MTL: Danault buries carom off end boards

He is just eight points away from matching his NHL career high of 40, with 34 games still remaining on the schedule this season.

Danault's name could very well appear on the list of candidates for the Frank J. Selke Trophy at season's end.