Are the Canadiens giving too much ice time to Lane Hutson? The Montreal Canadiens got hot. There are a lot of reasons for it and I’ve delved into that. Now that they are in playoff position, just a point out, it made me wonder if expectations to keep that position have changed? Are there actual playoff aspirations in Montreal? David Savard is missing some action so Jayden Struble is going to have to step it up in his absence. Savard could be back sooner rather than later but the defense is now missing a key shot blocker and that could hurt them. Struble [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-ready-for-a-fight] is still green. He’s played in just 81 NHL games by the age of 23. At Northeastern, he was a big time shot blocker and he has done ok with that with the Canadiens. He currently has 24 blocks in 25 games with 14:38 of ice time. That’s less than last year when he was at 16:07 but the team is better. Now that they are temporarily short-handed, I would think he could get more minutes with good play. As far as Struble is concerned, the team doesn’t need any offense they need better defense and improved shot blocking. Is that a tall order for this young defenseman? Probably, but this could be a playoff team and now that changes how Martin St. Louis may view some of his players. Struble has taken 42% defensive zone starts according to InStat. In the game against Vancouver, he played 13:59 and had five blocks in an overtime win. I think he may have a bit more to give on that front. At 1.82 hits per game and 57% of his puck battles won. There is room for some better play.
