Lane Hutson rips NHL referees after dangerous hit goes unpunished
Lane Hutson didn't hide Monday night. After Montreal's overtime loss to Carolina, the defenseman walked to the cameras and put the blame on himself.
It was the kind of accountability moment you don't always see from a 22-year-old. And it tells you exactly where his head is at.
The Canadiens dropped Game 3 by a 2-3 score in overtime. Jakub Dobes stopped 35 of 38 shots and deserved a better fate at the other end.
Carolina now leads the series. Montreal hosts Game 4 on Wednesday with everything on the line.
Hutson logged 28:55 of ice time, scored a power play goal, and finished even on the night. The minutes were heavy. The cost showed up late.
The bigger issue is what happened to him physically. Hutson has been the most-hit defenseman of this playoff run, and the punishment is starting to leave a mark.
William Carrier hit on Hutson now under the microscope
There was a William Carrier shot to Hutson that the officials swallowed. No call. No review at the bench. Just play on.
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Whether the league's Department of Player Safety opens a file on it is the question hovering over Tuesday morning in Montreal.
Carrier played 11:37 and finished plus-one. He didn't register a shot. But he made his presence felt in a way the box score won't show.
The Canadiens have owned this matchup all year, going 3-0 in the regular season including a 7-5 win on January 1. None of that helps now.
Montreal also crushed Carolina 6-2 in Game 1 of this series. Since then, two straight overtime losses, both by the same 2-3 scoreline. The shot generation has dried up at the worst time.
Hutson has put up 15 points in 17 playoff games. The offense is there. The body is the question.
Martin St-Louis can lean on Mike Matheson for tougher minutes, but the power play runs through his rookie phenom. He can't bench what he can't replace.
Game 4 is Wednesday at the Bell Centre. If the league doesn't act on the Carrier hit, the message to Carolina is simple: keep going.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 25, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Michael Matheson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Jankowski | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | - | - | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||