Hutson takes another step toward Calder Trophy in CH victory

As the season progresses, Lane Hutson’s name will increasingly be mentioned as a potential winner of the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League’s outstanding rookie.

The man who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Valentine’s Day added three assists to his record to lead the Canadian to a 5-3 victory over Utah HC on Tuesday at the Delta Center.

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Number 48 became the second-earliest rookie to total 30 assists in a season, behind Chris Chelios in 1984-85. And he didn’t do things by halves. After Utah created the deadlock about three minutes earlier thanks to Logan Cooley, he took advantage of a faceoff win in offensive territory to head to Karel Vejmelka. Cole Caufield touched his pass shot to give CH the lead for good.

Kirby Dach also had his say. He completed his double by seeing the Utah goalkeeper unable to stop a routine throw late in the game.

It’s a little better

Unlike the previous duel between the two teams, CH was more threatening on the offensive, especially in the middle period. Moreover, after 40 minutes, he claimed 15 shots, two more than his total from November 26, when he lost 3 to 2 in overtime to his rivals of the day in Montreal.

Thanks in particular to Hutson, the CH was able to retreat to its quarters with a short lead. Patrik Laine scored in a second consecutive clash, but for the first time this campaign, he performed at even strength. The veteran can thank Alex Newhook and Alexandre Carrier for a tic-tac-toe play that he sealed with a powerful shot.

Hutson, for his part, contributed to Dach’s first goal, which showed one of his strong points. After catching the defender’s pass, Dach appeared in front of the netminder and used his physicality to impose himself and bypass Vejmelka with a beautiful feint.

Flagrant indiscipline

The start of the match reminded Canadian fans of painful news: the absence of Emil Heineman. Because his replacement, Michael Pezzetta, wasted no time in getting his feet wet. On the first sequence of the evening, he landed in the penalty box and shortly after, Mike Matheson came to join him. The local favorites didn’t ask for that much to open the scoring on a double power play, through Josh Doan.

Unlike Pezzetta who had few opportunities to redeem himself, Matheson quickly overshadowed his misstep. The defender took off and skated at high speed towards Vejmelka, who he beat between the pads. However, apart from some good saves from Montembeault, this was pretty much the only positive point of the initial engagement for the visitors, who saw Nick Bjugstad give the opponent the lead before returning to the locker room.

In brief

Jake Evans blew a golden opportunity to put the game out of reach of the opponent in the third period. He earned a penalty shot by forcing Mikhail Sergachev to hold him, but Vejmelka easily shut the door in his face.

Thanks to his 10th goal of the regular season, Laine reached the plateau of 400 career points.

The Habs will meet the Stars again on Thursday, this time in Dallas. They won 2-1 in a shootout at the Bell Center on Saturday. Since then, they lost in Ottawa the next day and won in Toronto on Tuesday.

Progress of the match

THIRD PERIOD

16:15 (MTL 5 UTA 3) – CH thanks Vejmelka for a real tree given to Dach, who scores a second goal in the match.

12:56 – Juraj Slafkovsky puts his team in trouble by receiving the CH’s sixth punishment of the evening. But soon after, Jake Evans forces Sergachev to hold him on a breakaway and has the chance to execute on a penalty shot. Except that Vejmelka closes the door on him.

6:57 – Gallagher embarrasses his club with an avoidable penalty. However, Montembeault repels the only throw he faces during his time on the bench.

6:33 (MTL 4 UTA 3) – Hutson has another memorable night. Shortly after a faceoff won in the opposing zone, Cole Caufield redirects his pass shot behind the goalkeeper. The defender gets his third assist of the evening, while Caufield reaches 24 goals this year.

3:07 (MTL 3 UTA 3) – Utah HC comes back strong after an unconvincing second period. Clayton Keller ignores Carrier’s surveillance to pass the disc to Cooley who threads the needle with a one-timer.

0:00 – Start of period

SECOND PERIOD

18:34 (MTL 3 UTA 2) – Hutson once again shows off his talent. He spots Kirby Dach with a cross pass and the striker then serves Vejmelka a cup of coffee to launch the CH forward for the first time in the evening.

16:52 – Not very busy in the middle period, Montembeault stands in front of a rather insistent Matias Maccelli. The sequence ends with minor penalties from each side.

10:40 – (MTL 2 UTA 2) – Finally, in his 15th game of the season, Laine scores a goal at even strength. He completes a nice exchange with Newhook and Alexandre Carrier before beating Vejmelka with another powerful strike.

7:35 – The referees seem to want to balance their distribution of penalties. Barrett Hayton receives his team’s third penalty in a row. Despite a more sustained presence around the enemy net, the CH did not obtain the expected results.

3:58 – Alex Newhook and Christian Dvorak screw up great opportunities to tie the game. Olli Maatta gives the Habs another massive attack by receiving a penalty. In the following minutes, CH beat Vejmelka twice… but not the posts of his net.

0:21 – Finally, say the CH players. McBain gives the Canadian his first power play of the evening by hitting Brendan Gallagher with a stick too high. But the players in white struggle to settle in the opposing zone and the mark remains intact.

0:00 – Start of period

FIRST PERIOD

19:06 (MTL 1 UTA 2) – Shortly after the end of the penalty, Nick Bjugstad surprises Montembeault with a shot that slides off the goalkeeper’s back before heading behind the red line.

17:05 – Clearly, the visitors do not learn and remain undisciplined. Kirby Dach is punished for knocking Doan down. During the penalty, Logan Cooley’s shot hits the post and at the other end of the ice, Jake Evans is unable to score on a 2 on 1.

13:37 – We feel irritation among the CH, who return to numerical inferiority because of a gesture of frustration from Patrik Laine against Juuso Valimaki. Fortunately for him, Montembeault is keeping an eye on things.

12:47 – The action takes place mainly near Montembeault, who frustrates Lawson Crouse, well placed in the slot.

10:26 – As was the case during Utah HC’s visit to the Bell Center at the end of November, the CH spends its time chasing the puck. He only has one throw after more than 10 minutes of play.

3:18 (MTL 1 UTA 1) – Matheson doesn’t take long to redeem himself. He takes advantage of his speed to outrun his rivals and rush towards goalkeeper Karel Vejmelka, whom he thwarts between the pads. Lane Hutson records his 30th assist of the season.

2:11 (MTL 0 UTA 1) – Mike Matheson joins his teammate in the dugout after tripping Jack McBain. Utah HC plays five against three and capitalizes on the opportunity. Josh Doan pushes the puck behind Samuel Montembeault following a shot from Mikhail Sergachev.

0:29 – Michael Pezzetta gives his denigrators one more reason to hate him. He landed in the penalty box in the first sequence of the game.

0:00 – Start of the match