Hutson, Struble and self-correction | The Press

(Newark, New Jersey) Despite his young age, despite his appearance as a classmate of your teenager in secondary school, Lane Hutson is starting to have experience.

He began his NHL career in April, facing his boyhood idol, Patrick Kane, against a Red Wings who were fighting for survival. He played in a Canadian-Maple Leafs opening game, in a thunderous atmosphere at the Bell Centre, before experiencing the hostility of the Canadian-Bruins rivalry at TD Garden the next day.

On Saturday, he will take to the ice at Madison Square Garden for the first time… in the NHL. We specify this, because as he has experience, he has already played in “the most famous arena in the world”. It was a year ago, almost to the day, during the duel between Boston College and Cornell.

“It’s like the Bell Center for Americans. I’m happy to go back,” Hutson said with a smile after Friday’s practice, held at the Devils’ facilities.

Whether he’s on familiar ground or not, opposing rinks don’t intimidate the 20-year-old. It’s, strangely, night and day compared to his performance at the Bell Centre.

“I had a few not-so-good games at home,” Hutson agreed. It happens, the season is long. Above all, I want to build consistency and offer the same level of play, regardless of the circumstances. I definitely had a few games that I didn’t like at the Bell Center. But I’m rebuilding myself. »

One of these matches was against the New York Rangers, opponents of CH on Saturday. On October 22, the Habs were executed 7-2, a match that Hutson concluded with a record of -4. From this match, he notably learned a lesson in risk management when leaving the zone, courtesy of veteran Reilly Smith.

As Hutson controls the puck a lot and is actively involved offensively, he will make other blunders. Tuesday, against Utah, another reckless move, this time in the offensive zone, allowed the visitors to relaunch the attack and score the equalizing goal.

“That’s what happens when he’s too keen on supporting the attack,” noted Martin St-Louis.

“Lane wants to support the counterattack. In my eyes you can do it if at the top of the faceoff circle [en zone défensive]you are in the game. But if you have to catch the counter-attack, and it goes wrong, the opponent has a surplus. This is where he needs to calculate the risk better. I want him to support the attack, but we must not force the game.”

That said, St-Louis doesn’t seem so annoyed by the mistakes of his dynamic rearguard, because he judges that Hutson has the ability to self-correct. “To do it, you must first be able to evaluate yourself and he does it very well,” says St-Louis. It’s rare that you have to repeat something to him more than once. »

In the case of opportunities to support the offense, Hutson seems to have gotten the message.

“I will get more chances if I get to the second wave. If I’m too stuck on the game, it doesn’t have time to fully develop and my options are limited. Martin feels I’m leaving a lot on the table. In addition, if I don’t go on a counter-attack every time, I will have an easier time managing my energy. »

Matheson is better, Struble in trouble

Hutson is coming off a busy week on the ice. In the absence of Mike Matheson, who suffered a lower-body injury the last two games, Hutson essentially played the role of No. 1 defender, spending an average of 26 minutes in the box.

However, a return of Matheson on Saturday seems likely. For one thing, the veteran participated in Friday’s entire practice. It was impossible to speak to him after the session because his status was not determined at the time, but he appeared in good spirits at his locker.

On the other hand, St. Louis made harsh comments about Jayden Struble, the kind of comments that generally announce a presence on the bridge. St-Louis would indeed like Struble to find a happy medium in his performances. “He needs to raise his floor. His good is very good, but his floor is too low.

“In my eyes, you have to play with a sense of urgency, stay alert, understand that from your first appearance, a play can determine the outcome of the match. I wish it had a stronger sense of urgency from the start. »

Because everything is in everything, St. Louis’ comments were reminiscent of another play that occurred during last month’s 7-2 massacre, during Struble’s first appearance in that game.

Since then, Struble has had his ups and downs. He scored in two straight games, Saturday and Tuesday, before looking very bad on two Blue Jackets goals on Wednesday. On the first, that of Mathieu Olivier, his soft play in the corner was reminiscent of his bad streak against the Rangers.

Barring an injury, everything indicates that Struble will not have the chance to wipe the slate clean against the Rangers. Unlike Hutson.