Hutson Takes Heat for Canadiens Game 3 Loss, But It’s More Than That

Lane Hutson was quick to take the heat for a bad turnover in overtime on Monday night as the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 and are now down 2-1 in their Eastern Conference Final series. “It’d be nice to be up 2-1, but we’re not because of me, so it’s frustrating, and you just gotta battle, battle until the end,” he said. The goal wasn’t all on Hutson. The relentless pressure the Hurricanes are applying in that sequence and in this series has become a factor, and while Hutson is being targeted, everyone on the Canadiens is feeling it.

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This is what the Hurricanes do. They push. They pressure. The team never quits, and they fire everything on net, owning games with possession numbers that rival the best teams in the NHL.

In Game 1, Carolina was rusty and left holes the Canadiens exploited. In Games 2 and 3, the Hurricanes have closed those holes and gotten back to Carolina hockey. The Canadiens and Hutson have struggled to react.

Defensively, it hasn’t been any easier. The Hurricanes aren’t letting the Canadiens break out of their zone as they did in Game 1. Montreal hit several stretch passes for breakaways that they cashed in on. Those are gone now and the Canadiens look lost now that they’re forced to make short passes and what should be simple breakouts that Carolina does not make simple. The Hurricanes have gone after Hutson, and the pressure has worked.

Offensively, the Hurricanes are hammering the Canadiens as well. In the past two games, the Canadiens have registered 12 and 13 shots. It’s not nearly enough. To make matters worse, the Hurricanes are shooting from everywhere, going volume over shot quality, hoping the rebounds and mess in front of the net will create better looks.

I guess their willingness to throw some pucks on net (can be frustrating),” said Hutson. “Sometimes they get a bounce, sometimes they don’t. But they’re good at it, they’re good at retrieving pucks. The volume can be tough.”

Head coach Martin St. Louis said, “I think the challenge against this team is you know they’re going to have more shots than you. The challenge is not to let that knock you out mentally.” He added, “It would have been great to generate more (in Game 2), but we didn’t give them a whole lot either. So you can’t look at the shots and let it knock you out mentally.”

Montreal is not out of this series. That said, they do have to find a way to withstand the constant pressure and get more shots on net. With goaltender Frederik Andersen playing a merely average game (arguably below average), the Canadiens need quantity as much as quality. The Canadiens are being forced to question whether their style of game can succeed against the Carolina Hurricanes, who limit time and space. While the system itself isn’t flawed, Montreal must execute it much faster to keep up. For a young team that lacks playoff experience (until this season), it’s a valuable learning lesson. The question is, can they learn it quickly enough to avoid elimination?

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