Lane Hutson finally addressed his injury and Canadiens fans are worried

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Vincent Carbonneau
May 24, 2026  (9:42)

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Photo credit: Screenshot - NHL.com

Lane Hutson and Martin St-Louis may have just taken the hardest hit of Montreal's series in Carolina.

The Canadiens already lost Game 2 in overtime.

Now they are also dealing with the possibility that their young star defenseman may not be right for Game 3 Monday night at the Bell Centre.

That is why Hutson's reaction matters so much here.

It was not only the contact from Taylor Hall along the boards in overtime. It was what came right after. Hutson looked furious, and the file says he had real trouble putting weight on the leg.

That is not nothing.

Players get clipped and keep moving all the time in late May. But when a player like Hutson reacts with that much visible frustration, people inside and outside the room notice fast.

And for Montreal, this is the last player they wanted dragged into a health scare right now.

Hutson has become too important to how the Canadiens move the puck, escape pressure, and keep pace with Carolina's speed through the neutral zone. That kind of defenseman is hard enough to find in October. In a conference final, he is almost impossible to replace.

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The file says the early reaction from Hutson was not reassuring at all, and that alone changes the mood around this series.

Because Game 2 already showed how thin the margin is.

Montreal lost 3-2 in overtime, managed only 12 shots on goal, and still nearly escaped Carolina with a 2-0 series lead.

Now imagine trying to answer back at home without Hutson.

That would completely shift the pressure onto the rest of the blue line and force St-Louis to solve a problem he did not have 24 hours earlier.

The timing makes it worse.

The series is tied 1-1, the next game is Monday night, and the file says medical evaluations were still to come in the hours after the loss.

So right now, Montreal is stuck waiting.

And waiting is usually the worst part.

If Hutson is fine, the Canadiens can reset and focus on taking back control at home. If he is not, then this series just changed in a very real way.

That is why his reaction after the hit is the story today.

Not because anyone wants to overreact.

Because sometimes a player's body language tells you the bad news before the doctors do.

Previously

A massive twist just emerged in the Maple Leafs coaching search after a wild new name surfaced

Canadiens fans are outraged after controversial whistle in overtime loss

A disgusting Jakub Dobes clip is suddenly causing outrage across the hockey world

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