- Lane Hutson is “good to go” for Game 3 of the ECF after Saturday’s scary OT collision with Taylor Hall
- The Habs defenseman shrugged off the hit Monday morning: “Hockey happens, that’s all”
- Read below for the video of the hit and what Hutson said about being targeted
Lane Hutson isn’t making a thing of it.
“Hockey happens, that’s all,” the Canadiens defenseman said after Monday’s morning skate, less than two days after taking that knee from Taylor Hall in overtime of Game 2. He’s good to go for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Hurricanes.
Hutson skated with the regulars at the Bell Centre and didn’t look limited at all. Asked about the hit that left him slamming his stick and limping to the bench Saturday night, the 22-year-old opened up a bit more:
“I was a little mad about the hit; whatever. It definitely doesn’t feel great, but it is what it is.”
It happened at 2:17 of overtime with the score tied 2-2. Hutson saw Hall coming and tried to spin away, but his leg ate most of the impact.
He stayed down for a beat, slammed the bench door, and didn’t take another shift. Nikolaj Ehlers won it for Carolina on the very next shift.
Here’s the video of the hit from /r/Habs:
Pressed on the specifics, Hutson said Hall could have done a better job with his technique but stopped short of calling it intent:
“I feel like he could have done a better job of, you know, leading more with his shoulder, but whatever. I mean, the game happened so fast, and I’m not like saying he intended to do anything crazy or anything. I mean, I put myself in a bad spot, and you take advantage.”
The Hurricanes have made running Hutson a series-long project. He’s been hit 12 times through two games, tied with Noah Dobson for the most on Montreal. Carolina averages 43.73 hits per 60 in this round, up from 34.91 across the rest of the playoffs.
Cole Caufield was asked about teams zeroing in on his blue line star:
“I think whenever you play the Canadiens, No. 48 is the guy that you circle, you watch out for. So I’m not surprised. Obviously he has the puck a lot, so he’s going to get hit every once in a while. But he’s a guy that we want with the puck and he finds a lot of ways to make different plays.”
Catch the full Game 2 video highlights here:
Montreal’s All-Star defender has 14 points this postseason and leads every NHL blueliner with 12 playoff assists. Carolina shut him out of the scoresheet in the first two ECF games. Monday made clear he isn’t slowing down for anybody.
Game 3 is set for 8 p.m. ET at the Bell Centre. The series is tied 1-1.
