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Lane Hutson demonstrated yesterday that Corey Pronman was off base (and the latter added to it).
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Last night, the Canadiens Hockey Club was in Salt Lake City to face the Utah Hockey Club. And even without Emil Heineman, who was hit by a car on Monday and will miss a few weeks of action, the Habs found a way to win.

In a 5-3 victory, not everything was perfect, of course. However, Lane Hutson proved that he could be more than just an average player.

We say this obviously because Corey Pronman’s ranking placed Hutson 39th among his top players under 23, which has sparked quite a discussion in the city.

In fact, aside from the ranking (which is special in itself, but still), it’s mainly the fact that his puck skills were described as above average and that his competitive nature was labeled as “average” that caused such a notable reaction.

It wasn’t the analyst’s best take, let’s say.

And yesterday, on the ice, Lane Hutson demonstrated just how strong he is. Getting three assists in a 5-3 game is one thing, but we also have to mention his two blocked shots, his plus-3 differential, and his excellent defensive play.

He faces the best opposing players and he plays a lot, Hutson… in addition to racking up points.

But I think the comment that triggered the most reaction was Pronman’s statement that if Lane Hutson continues on this path, he could be a top-4 player one day in his career.

That was really good.

I’m not saying he would be on the top pair of every team right now, but he is playing on the top-2 of the Habs. He faces big opponents and holds his own defensively while also producing when he has the puck.

He leads all rookies in points, and only five defensemen in the NHL have more than his 35 points: Werenski, Makar, Hughes, Morrissey, and Theodore. That’s not exactly a bunch of slouches…

But this morning, while no one forced him to reshare his new article, Corey Pronman shared a piece about the players with the biggest rise in his rankings since the start of the season. And Hutson is among them.

We notice that there is a copy-paste of the segment on Hutson from yesterday (including the part about the top-4 and his competitiveness level) in a piece published this morning, right after the rookie’s excellent game yesterday. He doesn’t look any better this morning, Pronman.

But still. Those who watch the Habs games know what Hutson can bring to the ice. And once again yesterday, he was able to prove it to everyone in a Habs victory.

However, he wasn’t the only player who helped the Habs win. What do I take away from yesterday’s game?

1. The best were the best. We’re talking about Hutson and his three assists, but Mike Matheson (two points, including a beautiful goal) and Alexandre Carrier (two assists) were also solid on the blue line.

On offense? Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach (twice), and Cole Caufield found the back of the net. They took advantage of an opponent who wasn’t at their best defensively.

2. The Canadiens possibly played their worst 20 minutes in the first period in weeks. Good thing Samuel Montembeault, who deserves his win yesterday, was there to keep his team and teammates in the game.

But in the second period, it was much better. Especially in terms of penalties…

The Canadiens corrected their issues, and as Martin St-Louis said after the game, he didn’t need to intervene between the first two periods. This means the guys self-evaluated and corrected what needed to be corrected.

That’s a sign of maturity. And it reminds us that unlike many moments since the fall of 2021, the Canadiens are capable of regaining momentum and coming back in games.

3. In his last nine games, Kirby Dach has six goals. We’re talking about a stretch of nine games since returning from the holidays… and that brings his total for the season to eight. Clearly, he is regaining his legs.

And that’s a good thing.

4. Emil Heineman is the only injured player for the Canadiens at the moment. That wasn’t the case for André Tourigny’s men, who currently have several injured players (6-7 guys, including Shea Weber).

Result? The Canadiens dressed Michael Pezzetta for the game. Clearly, recalling someone to bring him to Utah wasn’t realistic.

The longer this goes on, the clearer it becomes that Pezz, both for himself and for the Habs, needs to be put on waivers – for his own good. He either doesn’t play, or he doesn’t play… well.

We know what he can bring, but it’s tough to do so while playing so little (3:50 yesterday, less than an hour since the beginning of the season) and it’s hard to make an impact when taking bad penalties. Get him out of his misery, for his own good.

5. At one point, in terms of shots, it was 12-1 for Utah. It ended 26-25 for the Habs, who really tightened their defense starting in the second period. It took a long time for the home team to shoot in the second period.

6. Seeing the Canadiens use the term “hit-and-run” on X made me laugh.


overtime

The Canadiens will not practice this morning: it will be a travel day to Dallas instead. Their next practice will be tomorrow morning in Dallas. #MorningSkate

Let’s remember that the Habs will play in Texas tomorrow before returning home for two games at the Bell Centre this weekend. The Maple Leafs and the Rangers are on the agenda.

(Credit: NHL.com)

As we can see, after tomorrow’s game against the Stars, it will mostly be at home for the rest of the month. Aside from a little trip to Detroit, the guys will mostly play at the Bell Centre from now on in January.

But don’t forget that the trip to California is coming up… #BeginningFebruary

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