Lane Hutson cut off Aliaksei Protas’ second-pair mark for John Carlson just over a minute into three-on-three overtime. A pass was passed and the game started, helping the Montreal Canadiens fly past Eastern Conference-leading Capital Washington with a well-deserved 3-2 win.
It was Hutson’s 28th assist of the season, which coincided with a stellar defensive performance that coincidentally saw Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki deliver the game in a two-on-one situation.
Because while so much has been written about Hutson’s offensive acumen — about his ability to dangle his ankle at the blue line and his ability to not only see passes that others wouldn’t imagine, but to execute them on a regular basis Ability on the ball – This kid doesn’t get a chance to show off anything without doing all the other things he gets little credit for on the other end of the ice. So it’s fitting to see it all come together in one show.
You know what else would fit? After the win, listen to one of Hutson’s least favorite players boast about his defensive performance to reporters at Capital One Arena.
“Laine’s been unbelievable,” said goaltender Jakub Dobes, who improved to 3-0 in his first three starts of his NHL career.
“Obviously, he plays very well offensively, but he also plays very well defensively. So, I’m excited to have him join our team.”
It’s a sentiment shared by all Canadiens players.
We imagine the executives of the other 31 teams are kicking themselves for letting the 20-year-old come to Montreal with the 62nd pick in the 2022 draft.
At the time, some of them might have wondered how a 5-foot-9 string bean like Hutson would one day handle pressure players like the 6-foot-6, 225-pound Protas who could apply at this level, but none of them had it It’s time to question it.
That doesn’t mean Hutson’s defense is perfect. If he were, he wouldn’t be minus-9 in his first 43 NHL games.
Did Hutson make poor decisions in his own zone? Is he occasionally beaten in the corners and in front of his own goal? Does he miss coverage from time to time?
The answer is yes by all accounts. As a result, the underlying statistics paint a less favorable picture of his defensive performance than what you see on this page.
But if all this kid can do is rock and pass, then the nearly 23 minutes he spends on the ice per game isn’t believable, and the idea that he’s a liability without the puck is just plain wrong. .
We saw example after example in Friday’s game of just how reliable Hutson can be on the puck – his last play before Suzuki’s goal being the most notable one.
You have to pay attention to some subtleties to truly appreciate this player’s defensive abilities.
Just 30 seconds before intercepting Protas’ pass to Carlson, Hutson made his most subtle play and recaptured the momentum lost in Jack Evans’ overtime faceoff loss. All he did was cut the puck off Karlsson’s stick with a perfectly timed stick check in the Montreal zone.
Little plays like this are easy to miss — and even easier to forget, as Hutson moved the puck up the ice and nearly allowed Caufield to break through — but that’s what his defensive game is made of.
Hutson must be adept at using his stick to make up for his lack of size, while he uses his brain and feet to do the rest, which seems to work in perfect harmony during the ceremony. These assets make him elite at keeping players out of dangerous areas and allow him to recover quickly when out of position. The rest comes down to his ruthless competitiveness, which anyone who has watched him play can easily see.
All of these attributes make the Chicago native eligible for the Calder Trophy, but they also went a long way toward helping the Canadiens turn their season around.
It wasn’t just Hutson’s few overtime plays that helped lead the Canadiens to a 20-18-3 loss on Friday; it was his entire performance that helped them dominate the Capitals.
The game started without the puck as Washington limited its shots to 17 shots.
The Canadiens found a couple of Capitals power plays early and took a one-goal lead, but gave the Capitals little else before Suzuki scored his 42nd point of the season to end the game.
Caufield scored the Canadiens’ 23rd goal of the second period, Josh Anderson scored on a shorthanded goal to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead, and everyone stepped on the gas to take control of the game.
The Canadiens are tough to deal with.
“It’s about participation,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “It’s involvement and shows how to value the game without the puck and defense, and it starts outside your zone… We killed the game early. Of course, sometimes they did Intervention, but we are doing the job and we have no passengers.”
There yes However, the leader of this department.
Alex Carrier is (rightly) getting his due since being traded from the Nashville Predators in the third week of December. Mike Matheson and Kaiden Guhle also got theirs, as did Arber Xhekaj.
The conversation about him is still almost entirely skewed toward his offensive abilities.
But maybe nights like this will change that.
This isn’t the first time Hutson has shined on defense, and it’s far from the last.
