Lane Hutson snaps after an unpunished act

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Lane Hutson snaps after an unpunished act
Credit: YouTube

The Canadiens didn't play a great game yesterday.

If they managed to take the game to overtime (only to ultimately lose 3-2), it's because Jakub Dobes outplayed his counterpart.

The Canadiens' goaltender deserved the win last night. He didn't get it.

After the game last night, there was one player kicking himself: Lane Hutson. The dynamic Canadiens defenseman knows he's to blame for his lackluster defensive play, and he wasn't afraid to say so on camera.

He's not wrong.

Mistakes like this aren't typical for Hutson. One can't help but wonder what caused the American (who was knocked out in overtime on Saturday) to crack like that in overtime.

Is it the fact that he's always getting hit? That can make a guy play scared, right?

Just in overtime (when the referees put their whistles away in the same place the Habs put their shootout attempts… that is, somewhere hard to reach), he got a stick shoved into his legs with no call.

But above all, one has to wonder if he was shaken up by William Carrier's (unpunished) hit on him.

Not only is this dangerous for player safety (one wonders if the NHL will look into the matter), but it also slightly altered the course of the following seconds.

And it led to the result we all know.

I'm not saying that's the only reason the Habs lost, since their inability to score is really at the heart of the matter. But seeing the referees fail to penalize such a move is appalling on multiple levels.

I'll say it again: will the Player Safety Department look into this today?


overtime

This morning, the Habs players won't have to hit the ice for practice. Rest will be their main weapon as they prepare for tomorrow night's game in Montreal.

It's a matchup the Habs can't afford to lose.

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