Lane Hutson was in the midst of a star-making playoff run through two rounds.
The 22-year-old defenceman led the Montreal Canadiens with 14 points in 14 games and found himself mentioned alongside the likes of franchise legends and Hockey Hall of Famers Larry Robinson and Chris Chelios.
However, Hutson has endured a much harder time impacting games against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final than he did against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres previously.
Although Hutson scored on the power play in the Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime loss in Game 3 on Monday, his failed pass in overtime sparked the Hurricanes’ game-winning play.
“It’d be nice to (be) up 2-1 (in the series), but we’re not because of me,” Hutson told reporters after the game. “It just sucks. I (was) trying to make a possession play (and) saw (Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki), and I didn’t want to just pass it to a flat-footed (Suzuki) and (have) them tip it in and just get a free breakout again. So I tried to make a possession play, and (it) sucks because it ended up going in.”
Hutson’s ability to orchestrate offence from the back end has been instrumental to the Canadiens’ success this season. But the Hurricanes’ aggressiveness in all three zones has hindered key elements of Hutson’s game — he is averaging 31 fewer seconds of offensive-zone possession time and roughly 14 fewer puck touches per 20 minutes in all situations against Carolina compared to the first two rounds.
Because Hutson is handling the puck with less frequency, any mistake he makes — such as his turnover in overtime — gets magnified. Hutson’s overall turnover rate, which was 10.8 per cent before this series, has risen to 15.6 per cent against the Hurricanes. (As a team, Montreal has committed 15.4 more turnovers per 60 minutes in this series than the previous two.)
“Yeah, I mean, I didn’t love the play (in overtime), but whatever,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis told reporters. “It’s what’s next and we didn't do what’s next. We didn’t get the job done.”
It is also clear that the Hurricanes are targeting Hutson physically. They have doled out 17 hits on Hutson so far, including most notably forward Taylor Hall’s hard check in overtime of Game 2. Hutson has absorbed an NHL-leading 61 hits in the playoffs, according to the league. (Tampa Bay had 24 hits on Hutson, while Buffalo had 20.)
“Hutson’s probably their most important player, and if he has a puck, I’m going to try and make some contact and prevent him from getting up the ice ultimately,” Hall told reporters. “We have to keep doing it. It’s our pressure (game). And it’s really just us getting above all their players.
“When their defencemen have the puck, they want to take it back. They refuse to rim pucks. So we’re going to just get above their guys and make them make plays. And they played a lot of hockey (in these playoffs so far). They have a lot of skill back there on the back end. And we’ve done a good job just limiting their time and space.”
Hutson finished 10th in the regular season with 169 hits taken, so he is not surprised by the Hurricanes’ tactics.
“I’m not too worried about it,” Hutson told reporters before Game 3. “It’s been happening all playoffs for everyone, so it’s not just me. It’s everyone. They’ve got a big, strong team, and they use their strength.”
The Hurricanes’ suffocating style has affected the entire Canadiens team — evident in the nearly 13-minute advantage that Carolina (27:03) has over Montreal (14:16) in offensive-zone possession time in all situations, as well as in its 238-128 edge in shot attempts and 64-39 mark in high-danger scoring chances in all situations.
After helping Montreal generate 54.8 per cent of the expected goals at five-on-five during the regular season and 48.3 per cent over the first two rounds, Hutson has a 37.2 xGF percentage in three games against Carolina. And despite Hutson’s power-play goal, Montreal is 1-for-6 with the man advantage against Carolina’s outstanding penalty kill. (Ten of Hutson’s 15 playoff points have come on the power play.)
If Hutson continues getting stymied to this extent, the series could quickly slip away for the Canadiens.
“They’re one of the best teams in the league for a reason,” Hutson told reporters. “They play a hard brand of hockey, put tons of pressure. They’re a good team.”
All stats via Sportlogiq
