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The first line is much more effective with Lane Hutson on the ice

 Matthew Garcia
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The first line is much more effective with Lane Hutson on the ice
Credit: Getty Images
As we all know, Lane Hutson is exceptional with the puck.

His speed of execution and feints fool many, even the cameramen :

His skills with the puck also more than make up for his small stature.

What attracts the most attention from fans and experts is his time on the powerplay, as he plays on the second unit.

He’s often seen at the same time as the Habs’ top forwards.

On the other hand, as Dumont reports, he is the 15ᵉ NHL player most used during the massive attack.

Mike Matheson, meanwhile, ranks 3ᵉ.

It goes without saying that Hutson performs better with good teammates, and the advanced statistics bear this out.

The Habs first line was present for only 23.5% of shots and 16.4% of expected goals.

When #48 is on the ice with this same line, these two figures soar to 50% and 42.5% respectively.

Dumont had the best phrase to simplify it all:

“The player with the least professional experience on the club had the best impact on the club’s best players.”

Obviously, when an offensive phenom on the blue line arrives in the pros, many will assume he’s deficient defensively.

It’s important to play well defensively, but even if some players are better at it, it’s something you learn over time.

On the other hand, raw talent like Hutson’s doesn’t come cheap and can’t be learned.

What’s more, the little defender really isn’t bad defensively.

As we learn in this article by Marc Dumont, journalist for Montreal Hockey Now, he made up for his teammates’ mistakes far more often in the NCAA.

And so far, he’s doing well defensively in the NHL.

His style of play translates very well to the NHL.

Also in Marc Dumont’s piece, he made a very interesting point about Hutson’s transition to the big league.

We saw how quickly things clicked with a player as talented as Macklin Celebrini, when they played together at Boston University.

On the other hand, his other teammates with more limited talent weren’t in a position to benefit as much from the little defender’s prowess.

That’s why he quickly adapted to the NHL and why he produces so much.

He’s playing with more experienced, but mostly NHL-calibre guys.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the little defender continue at this pace, even if there are some bad sequences to come.

After all, he’s only a rookie.


Overtime

– Yaroslav Askarov starts his season with the San Jose Barracudas in the best possible way, with a shutout.

– They look good.

– Good news for listeners.

– Many fans and experts who have chosen him in their pool are not happy with his poor performances so far.

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