Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson looked to be in some discomfort after taking a Taylor Hall hit in overtime on Saturday night.
The Montreal Canadiens managed to force overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night despite the home team dominating the game. Martin St-Louis’ men were just one goal away from taking a 2-0 lead back home to Montreal, but in the end, it wasn’t to be. If the coach didn’t go all out for the win with his forward selection early in extra time, he did have standout defenseman Lane Hutson out early, and the choice might have backfired.
As Hutson was retrieving a puck by the boards deep in the zone, Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall came in for a hit, but his knee caught Hutson’s knee before the defenseman fell to the ice. The look on the blueliner’s face as he got up and went back to the bench was quite telling; he didn’t like the hit, and he was visibly in some discomfort, slamming the door of the bench shut.
Losing Hutson’s mobility and offensive instinct would be disastrous for the Canadiens. The defenseman is second on the team in points (and 10th overall in the league) with 14 in 16 games, and while he hasn’t been on the scoreboard in the first two games against Carolina, he’s still been a force for the Habs.
While the blueliner is quite shifty on the ice and often manages to elude hits, he took the full force of the Hall hit, and the point of contact is a worry. On top of being a minute muncher, he quarterbacks the Canadiens' first power-play units and is called upon on the penalty kill. The Michigan native is a jack of all trades for the Habs, and his loss could equate to that of Cale Makar for the Colorado Avalanche.
The Canadiens will not be practicing today, but there will be a media availability at the team’s hotel at 10:00 AM. Hopefully, we will get some information on Hutson’s status then.
Edit: St-Louis confirms Hutson is fine.
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