Lane Hutson said he is good to go for the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final at Bell Centre on Monday after taking a hard hit in overtime two nights earlier.
Hutson was shaken up when Carolina forward Taylor Hall delivered a hard hit against the boards at 2:17 of overtime in Game 2 on Saturday; he managed to get to his feet, clear the puck out of the zone and reach the bench but did not take another shift. Carolina forward Nikolaj Ehlers then won the game at 3:29 of overtime.
The Canadiens' 20-year-old blue-liner ranks second on Montreal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 14 points — two goals and 12 assists — but has been held without a point by the Hurricanes in the first two games of the conference final. Hutson said Monday after the morning skate that he was "good to go" for the scheduled 8 p.m. ET start.
Hutson shrugged off the hit in measured terms. "Hockey happens, that's all," he said. "I was a little mad about the hit, (but) whatever." He added, "It definitely doesn't feel great, but it is what it is," and, "I feel like he could have done a better job of, you know, leading more with his shoulder, but whatever." Hutson also stressed he didn't see malice in the play: "I mean, the game happened so fast, and I'm not like saying he intended to do anything crazy or anything."
Hutson acknowledged his own positioning: "I mean, I put myself in a bad spot, and you take advantage." He later said, "I'm not too worried about it," and framed the physicality as league-wide: "I mean, it's been happening all playoffs for everyone, so it's not just me, it's everyone. We've got a big, strong team, and you know, they use their strength."
The Hurricanes have been the tougher team through the first two games, compiling 90 hits and a 56-hit edge over Montreal. Carolina led the remaining playoff teams in hits per 60 minutes at 34.91 before the conference final; that figure jumped to 43.73 during the matchup with Montreal. Jordan Staal had 18 hits through the first two games and Andrei Svechnikov had 11. Hutson himself was hit 12 times through the first two games, tied with Noah Dobson for the most hits on Montreal's roster.
Opponents say they plan to keep making life difficult for Hutson when he's on the ice. Logan Stankoven, speaking about Montreal's play driver, said: "Lots of skill there, very elusive and just sees the ice so well." He added, "I think you want to try and finish our checks clean on him and just try to get a piece of him because he's always hopping up into the play, and a he's a play driver for them and wants to make things happen when he’s on the ice." Stankoven continued, "So obviously, we are always making ourselves aware of when he's out there and trying to do our best to shut him down."
Teammates expect opponents to continue focusing on No. 48. Cole Caufield said: "I think whenever you play the Canadiens, No. 48 is the guy that you circle, you watch out for," adding, "So, I'm not surprised." Caufield noted, "Obviously he has the puck a lot, so he's going to get hit every once in a while," and, "But he's a guy that we want with the puck and he finds a lot of ways to make different plays."
The hit that rattled Hutson set the tone for a physical series; the play is chronicled in this report on Taylor Hall's hit on Lane Hutson as the Canadiens brace for Game 3: Taylor Hall's hit on Lane Hutson sets tone as Canadiens brace for Game 3. Montreal returns home with Hutson available and the scoreboard showing a Carolina edge, and the Canadiens will need their second-leading playoff scorer to shrug off contact and find his playmaking touch against a team that has turned physical pressure into an advantage.
