You knew it was only a matter of time. This edition of the Hidden Game is dedicated to Lane Hutson.
The rookie Canadiens defenceman drew three assists in Montreal’s 5-3 victory over the Utah Hockey Club Tuesday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Not only does the 20-year-old phenom lead all rookies with 35 points, he became the second-fastest rookie in team history to record 30 assists in a season, accomplishing the feat in 43 games. Hutson trails only fellow defenceman Chris Chelios, who required 38 games during the 1984-85 season.
Not only that, Hutson joins Cale Makar, Al MacInnis, Nicklas Lidstrom, Stefan Persson, Brian Leetch, Larry Murphy and Chelios for the fewest games to 30 assists in a season by a rookie defenceman in NHL history.
That’s some pretty select company. Yeah, this Hutson kid is special.
Great moments in scheduling: Utah is in the midst of a seven-game homestand that started on Jan. 8 and concludes on Monday. This was the fourth contest and the team has only one victory.
As the world turns: When these teams met on Nov. 26 at the Bell Centre and the Canadiens lost 3-2 in overtime, Montreal’s record was 7-11-2 and it was tied for last overall in the NHL, with 16 points. Since then the Canadiens have gone 14-7-2 and are in the mix for a playoff berth.
News you need (Part I): With his 16th victory this season, Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault matched his career high. He won 16 in each of the last two seasons with Montreal. It won’t take long for him to produce his 17th win.
We’ve seen this movie before: We’ll never have a bad word to say about Michael Pezzetta, who plays with heart and emotion. Thrust back into the lineup after Emil Heineman was struck by a car Monday in Salt Lake City, Pezzetta likely earned the ire of head coach Martin St. Louis by taking a penalty in the opening minute for holding Jack McBain’s stick.
Dumb penalty (Part I): With Pezzetta in the penalty box, Mike Matheson took an unnecessary tripping penalty, leaving the Canadiens two men short for 1:25. Not surprisingly, Josh Doan opened the scoring 67 seconds later.
This is how you atone: Matheson tied the score with his first goal in 20 games, doing his best impression of Bobby Orr. Matheson took the puck at his blue line, showed deft speed, split the defence tandem of Olli Maatta and Mikhail Sergachev and beat goalie Karel Vejmelka.
News you need (Part II): Matheson’s goal came on the Canadiens’ first shot.
Momentum … schmomentum: Matheson’s goal came 67 seconds after Doan scored.
Dumb penalty (Part II):Patrik Laine cross-checked Juuso Valimaki after the whistle at 13:37 of the opening period. Coincidentally, both players are natives of Tampere, Finland. Maybe this is the Finnish version of the Hatfields and McCoys?
Dumb penalty (Part III): Kirby Dach took Montreal’s fourth minor penalty of the opening period, tripping Doan.
News you need (Part III): Jake Evans recorded the Canadiens’ second shot of the period at 18:05. Montreal was short-handed at the time.
News you need (Part IV): Utah now has a goal differential of minus-16 in the second period, after the Canadiens scored twice.
Dumb penalty (Part IV): Utah’s Jack McBain high-sticked Brendan Gallagher, only 21 seconds into the second period.
Sometimes he gets it: Juraj Slafkovsky used his 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame to perfection early in the second period, driving to the net and drawing a hooking penalty on Sergachev.
They said it couldn’t be done: Not only did Laine make amends for his unnecessary penalty, he scored the Canadiens’ second goal midway through the second period. It was his 10th goal this season in 15 games, but his first at even strength. It also was Laine’s 400th career point in only his 495th regular-season contest.
It’s a game of inches: With the Canadiens on the power play in the period, Alex Newhook hit the crossbar moments before Kaiden Guhle struck the post.
Dumb penalty (Part V): Barrett Hayton decided to introduce his fist into Matheson’s face for no apparent reason.
News you need (Part V): Utah didn’t generate its first shot of the second period until 14:20, by Logan Cooley.
Another atonement: Dach provided the Canadiens with a 3-2 lead late in the second period, driving down the right side, cutting in and beating Vejmelka on the backhand. And just for good measure, Dach produced an insurance goal late in the third. He now has six goals in nine games.
Dumb penalty (Part VI): Slafkovsky’s interference infraction, in the offensive zone, against Clayton Keller at 12:56 of the third period.
News you need (Part VI): Sergachev, selected ninth overall by the Canadiens in 2016, was minus-3 on this night and is now minus-15 in his last 11 games.
Next time, decline the penalty: Utah was 1-for-6 on the power play while the Canadiens came up empty on three man advantages.
Quick stats: Nick Suzuki, not known for his physical play, had four hits. Pezzetta had three hits despite playing only five shifts over an embarrassing 3:50 of ice time.