- Lane Hutson took full blame for Monday’s 3-2 OT loss after a costly giveaway led to Andrei Svechnikov’s winner
- “It would be nice to be up 2-1, but we’re not because of me,” Hutson said, also praising Jakub Dobes after the 35-save effort
- Read below for video of Hutson’s post-game scrum and the Svechnikov OT winner with Carolina now leading the ECF 2-1
Lane Hutson didn’t try to spread the blame around.
The Canadiens defenseman owned a costly overtime giveaway after Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes, and he didn’t bother dressing it up. Asked about the play that opened the door for Andrei Svechnikov’s series-tilting goal, Hutson kept it short.
“It would be nice to be up 2-1, but we’re not because of me,” Hutson said.
Montreal now trails the Eastern Conference Final 2-1 after dropping a heartbreaker at the Bell Centre.
Late in OT, Hutson retrieved a dump-in behind his own net and tried to swing the puck up the middle. Svechnikov jumped the pass, the Canes top line cycled into a long shift, and Svechnikov ripped a wrister from the right circle past Jakub Dobes.
Hutson’s scrum is queued up at his portion of the Habs’ full post-game media ops video:
Dobes was outstanding in the loss. He stopped 35 of 38 shots and saved 2.45 goals above expected, per Evolving Hockey. Hutson made a point of pulling him out of the fire when the conversation turned to the goalie.
“He’s been great all playoffs. Not surprised,” Hutson said. “He battles so hard. It sucks that I just blew it for him, but it is what it is.”
Montreal didn’t manage a single shot in overtime. They went 24 straight minutes without one, dating back to the 9:54 mark of the third period.
Watch Svechnikov’s OT winner from the NHL’s channel:
Hutson followed up his Calder-winning rookie season with another big year. He set career highs across the board with 12 goals, 66 assists, and 78 points in 82 regular-season games. He’s added 3 goals and 12 assists through 17 playoff games, including the second-period power-play marker that briefly tied Game 3 at 2-2.
Carolina is now a perfect 5-0 in overtime this postseason, which has the Habs in a tight spot.
Game 4 goes Wednesday at the Bell Centre, 8 p.m. ET. The Habs need a fast response or they’re staring at a 3-1 hole heading back to Raleigh.
