MONTREAL - Lane Hutson鈥檚 elevated play hasn鈥檛 come as a surprise to those around him.
The slippery second-year defenceman鈥檚 stellar playoff performance for the Montreal Canadiens is the product of an obsession that rarely shuts off, something teammate Noah Dobson sees every day.
鈥淎ny chance he gets, he's doing something involving hockey,鈥 Dobson said from the Canadiens鈥 dressing room this week. 鈥淗e's back there stick-handling, shooting pucks all day, every day. It's impressive.
鈥淗e's got the love for the game. He's always working on it and doesn't seem to get tired, ever.鈥
Hutson is regularly one of the first players on the ice for practice, and even sneaks in skating sessions on Canadiens off days. That includes the holiday break, as Hutson and teammate Ivan Demidov played shinny with a group of kids on an outdoor rink in Montreal鈥檚 Notre-Dame-de-Gr芒ce neighbourhood this past Christmas Eve.
As the Canadiens battle the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, Hutson is putting that bottomless tank of energy 鈥 and his elite instincts 鈥 on full display for the broader hockey world.
The 22-year-old American seems to pop up everywhere in the series, with Montreal and Buffalo tied 2-2 in their best-of-seven matchup heading into Game 5 on Thursday night in Buffalo.
Though the Canadiens lost 3-2 in Game 4 at home, Hutson logged a game-high 28:02 of ice time 鈥 more than three minutes above the next closest player 鈥 and picked up an assist to become just the third Canadiens defenceman in the past 30 years to reach the 10-point plateau in a single post-season.
In Game 3, he expertly took advantage of a stick-less Jordan Greenway to set up Cole Caufield for a power-play goal. But perhaps the biggest play of the man advantage came moments earlier when he hustled to keep the puck in the zone 鈥 and keep a group of tired penalty killers on the ice.
"Sometimes you just get a bounce,鈥 said the soft-spoken Hutson, often reluctant to talk about himself. 鈥淟uckily I did.鈥
But teammate Kaiden Guhle, along with everyone watching, knew there was little luck involved with that play.
"He's got an unreal motor, never gets tired. He never gives up on plays,鈥 Guhle said. 鈥淗e's always trying to make an impact in whatever way he can, if it's making the pass to Cole or keeping that puck in at the blue (line). He's just got such a high motor and such a high compete level.
鈥淭hat's what makes him so great.鈥
Guhle added that effort extends beyond the offensive zone, despite what some might assume given Hutson鈥檚 five-foot-nine, 162-pound frame.
The blueliner has had to prove doubters wrong due to concerns about whether he could defend at his size, falling to 62nd overall in the 2022 NHL draft despite being the highest-scoring defenceman on that season鈥檚 U.S. 好色tv Development Team.
"He's not just an offensive defenceman. He defends hard and he defends well,鈥 Guhle said. 鈥淔or a small guy, I think he's improved so much at defending.
鈥淵ou watch him in a game, he never gets beat really, rarely, out of the corner. One-on-one battles, he wins all those battles.鈥
GOING DOWN EASY
Buffalo has taken a stunning 25 minor penalties (some offsetting) over the past three games and put the Canadiens on the power play seven times in Tuesday night鈥檚 win.
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff blamed his players for failing the 鈥渄iscipline test鈥 in a fiery post-game press conference, but also suggested the Canadiens embellished to draw calls.
鈥淚t's a time of year where a player is going to do his best to make whatever call it is seem like it's almost the end of the world,鈥 Ruff said, pointing to what he considered soft penalties assessed to Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin.
Ruff doubled down Wednesday when asked whether he鈥檇 noticed any trends in the Sabres鈥 penalties.
鈥淚 know Montreal's got a good power play but I think they're going down easy,鈥 he told reporters, before adding that every team does it. 鈥淚t's part of the playoffs. It just is. You know how important a power play can be ... you got to be careful with your sticks. If they have a chance to make the play look worse than it is, they're going to.鈥
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis wouldn鈥檛 comment on Ruff鈥檚 view of things, but said he felt the calls had been fairly even on both sides.
FREAKISH BOUNCE
Thompson scored on what seemed like a one-in-a-million chance when his dump-in ricocheted off the stanchion by the Zamboni door and banked in off Jakub Dobes鈥檚 right leg to tie the game 2-2 on Tuesday. The Canadiens, however, have seen weird bounces from that left corner before.
鈥淚t's not the first time. We鈥檝e talked about it,鈥 said St. Louis post-game, laughing. "It's funny because we talk about it. He got caught because he came out once, and now he doesn't go out anymore when the puck goes (in the corner). And now I think if he had gone out that time, I don't think the puck would have gone in. What can you do?"
This report by 好色tvwas first published May 13, 2026.
