If Lane Hutson were still playing against his brother, he’d win the Norris Trophy

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
If Lane Hutson were still playing against his brother, he’d win the Norris Trophy
Credit: X

Brotherly bonds are always special. The competitive spirit is still there.

The example that always comes to mind is that of the Nola brothers. Aaron is a top pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, and he has thrown only nine pitches at 96 MPH or faster in his career.

Three of those pitches were thrown while his brother Austin was at bat.

We saw it again yesterday with the Hutson brothers: a brotherly showdown always (or at least often) brings out the best in an athlete.

The Hutson brothers, who faced off for the first time in a real game yesterday, experienced this firsthand. And they quickly went from being brothers before the game to enemies on the ice.

I'm not saying that Lane Hutson couldn't have scored a goal as spectacular as the one he scored yesterday if his brother hadn't been on the other side—that would be disrespectful to his immense talent.

But we all know the Canadiens' #48 was fired up yesterday.

In every aspect of the game, Lane Hutson was excellent, putting on (yet another) absolutely spectacular performance. He undoubtedly wanted to show his brother Cole thatCaufield, in the end, he's the boss of the family.

The Canadiens defenseman, who also recorded an assist, is stepping up in Mike Matheson's absence.

But we shouldn't take anything away from Cole Hutson, of course. His team won the Hutson Bowl (which is what matters most, as far as we know) and he recorded an assist.

And most importantly, he used his knowledge to teach his Capitals teammates how to (try to) stop his brother.

We can all agree that yesterday's game was highly anticipated. It was especially so for the Hutson brothers, but even more so for two other reasons.

My colleagues Raphael Simard and Marc-Olivier Cook have already covered the topics: the game on Prime and Jakub Dobes' performance in net. But there are other points worth noting from yesterday's game.

1. Aside from the hit he took (we hope he's feeling okay this morning), Juraj Slafkovsky didn't have the best game. He'll need to turn things around.

After all, the Habs need him—especially without Ivan Demidov…

2. What's unfortunate about the loss for the Canadiens is that the team played well. At five-on-five, they were better (and, above all, faster) than the Capitals.

But giving up a goal on the power play AND one while shorthanded doesn't help.

The performance of the Canadiens' goaltender certainly played a role in the outcome, but the Habs didn't deserve to come away from the game with no points, as they say.

Life isn't always fair.

3. The Canadiens are capable of staging comebacks (we saw that in Pittsburgh early in the season), but they can't rely solely on that. We've said this many times.

Nick Suzuki's goal (on a six-on-four power play) was a step in the right direction with 99 seconds left in the game. But completing a comeback isn't easy.

4. Josh Anderson loves facing Tom Wilson's team. He's the real nemesis of the Capitals' #43.

Arber Xhekaj tried to get into a fight with him (after Slaf's hit), but the veteran wasn't having any of it. It seems to me it would have been fair for Wilson to answer for his hit, but oh well.


Overtime

Today is a day off for the Canadiens. The guys will be back on the ice tomorrow morning to prepare to face the Sabres on Saturday night.

But you still have to wonder if anyone will actually be skating.

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