Heartbreak

     

    There are many times in the course of a Stanley Cup playoff run when your heart breaks a little: Losing a tight game you deserved to win. Failing to play your game when you really need to bring it. Having a goal called back because the refs take out the tape measure on an offside review. Getting blown out at home in a potential series clincher.

    The Canadiens have lived through every one of those situations this spring and managed to find a way to fight back. They have every opportunity to do it again in this Carolina series.

    However, perhaps the most heartbreaking moment of these playoffs was watching Lane Hutson stand there after the game and say "It would be nice to be up 2-1, but we’re not because of me, so it’s frustrating." He followed that brutal self-assessment with an apology to goalie Jakub Dobes, saying "Sucks that I just blew it for him."

    Hutson is keen to be accountable for the loss, but it was far, far from his fault. There would have been no overtime at all if he hadn't scored on the power play to even things at two. If his teammates had more than 13 shots or could bury a breakaway, Hutson might never have been in a position to make the play that led to the game winner for Carolina. They didn't and they couldn't, and that left the team's best player (aside from maybe Dobes) feeling like he should have done more. It's hard to imagine how he could.

    The 22-year-old has 15 points in 17 playoff games. He plays almost thirty minutes a game (28:55 in Game Three) and he defends brilliantly against the other team's toughest players. He's been a target all playoffs, his 162 pounds absorbing hit after hit, including a terrible knee-on-knee collision with Taylor Hall in Game Two that obviously really hurt. Still, watching him work his skating magic, you'd never know it.

                                🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒🏒

    If Hutson doubts himself, he can make an exercise of imagining the Canadiens without him. It's hard to believe it's been only two years since he signed his first NHL contract because he's such an entrenched part of the team now. He's the first Calder Trophy winner the Habs have had since Ken Dryden in 1971. His 78 points this season were a major reason why the team made the playoffs in a squeaky-tight Atlantic division. He's mature for his age, a visionary and creative genius on the ice. He's the only one on the team who'd think to crawl in behind his goalie to help him protect the post during a scrum. 

    Other teams target Hutson because they know he drives the Canadiens' offence more than any other player. Even when he doesn't record a point on a play, he's constantly moving the puck out of danger, making impossible passes or stripping an attacker to prevent a scoring chance. If the team can't muster up more than a handful of shots, it's certainly not down to Hutson.

    No, there are many issues with the way the Canadiens are playing, especially at home, but Lane Hutson's performance is definitely not one of them. He's probably the hardest worker on the team, first on the ice every day even during optional practices. There's little more he can do to drive his team forward.

    Hopefully, today, Hutson's teammates will listen to their superstar blaming himself for the loss and realize how little they did to help him. Perhaps a little introspection might help them focus on playing their best instead of just watching him play his game. If the Canadiens are to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, a lot of players will have to be better in Game Four.

    Lane Hutson does not.