With the New York Rangers dropping their matinee on Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens knew there was a big opportunity for them in their evening contest with the Philadelphia Flyers. They completely flipped the script of their previous 6-4 loss to the Flyers, dominating for most of the game en route to a 3-2 win that was closer than it probably should have been.
In that win, Lane Hutson showed the hockey world exactly why the Calder Trophy should belong to him.
EXCUSE ME, LANE HUTSON??? pic.twitter.com/qpvk4B05WT
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) April 6, 2025
This was a preposterous play for a rookie defenceman. Hutson started all the way behind his own net, using his skating and stick-handling to create space for himself in the neutral zone and into attacking territory. From a ridiculously bad angle, he somehow manages to put it off the back bar, a goal that gave his team the lead for the first time in the game, helping them to earn a crucial two points in the standings.
We’ve all seen the videos – Hutson staying late at practice, working tirelessly on his shot with Adam Nicholas. It seems to have paid off, not just with that goal, but with his general confidence in shooting the puck. What makes his future so exciting is that he doesn’t see himself as a finished product, he craves improvement. He identifies areas of his game he thinks can make him a better overall player, and he works on them. It would be easy for him to get a big ego with how much attention he’s getting right now, but he doesn’t, he just keeps honing his craft.
There should be no doubt at this point – the Calder Trophy is his. He now has a comfortable five-point lead in the rookie scoring race, and might actually catch Larry Murphy for the highest-scoring season by a rookie defenceman in league history. Even if you put points aside, he’s part of a group of players that are leading the Habs to a potential playoff berth, something that virtually nobody thought was possible ahead of the season.
This is one of the most impressive rookie performances we’ve ever seen, and it will be a travesty if he doesn’t get the hardware to go along with that.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back tonight, as the Habs are right back in action on the road against the Nashville Predators.
