SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Welcome to The Week in NUMBERS. Each week, I highlight key statistics that have defined training successes and failures over the past seven days.
This week: Hutson leads the NHL (again), Montreal refuses to give up, and Newhook continues to play well
103
Completed passes to the slot by Hutson this season
It’s now eight straight games with at least one point for Lane Hutson.
His 35 assists place him tied for 4th among defensemen, behind only Quinn Hughes (38), Cale Makar (37), and Zach Werenski (36). And he could very easily have even more, if not for missed opportunities by his teammates, like this one by Brendan Gallagher, for example.
Hutson gets these assists thanks to his unparalleled ability to spot his teammates in the slot. And when I say peerless, that’s not an exaggeration; his 103 completed passes to the slot place him alone in first place among defenders. Erik Karlsson is the only defender who has a gap of less than 20 passes with Hutson.
Before jumping into the comments to say “oh, another statistic made up to make Hutson look good, that doesn’t mean anything!” ”, here’s something to consider. Since 2018-2019, the NHL assists leader has also led in passes to the slot in five of those seven seasons and has never ranked lower than 5th. It makes sense, after all. What better way to get assists than to make a precise pass to a teammate in the heart of the offensive zone? This is the most dangerous spot on the ice and where the majority of goals come from. Hutson is able to attack center ice with his passes at a pace that makes even the Hugheses and Makars of this world blush, no surprise to see him find success.
Midway through his rookie season, it’s clear that Hutson doesn’t need to adjust to the NHL. Rather, it is the NHL that must adapt to him. Montreal really hit the jackpot at 62nd place in the draft.
4-1-0
CH record since December 17 when they fell behind after two periods
What an incredible sequence for the Canadian.
Even after a tough loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal bounced back with an excellent effort against the New York Rangers less than 24 hours later and continues to be the best team in the NHL over the past five recent weeks.
Montreal leads the NHL in goals, points and wins since December 17. It’s just not something that happens by chance. I’m not saying that the Habs will be able to continue at this pace for the rest of the season, but they are showing that they are no longer a team to be taken lightly.
But what impresses me the most is the effort they give when they fall behind. From 2021-22 to 2023-24, the Canadiens were 14-74-12 when trailing after one period, and 13-104-11 after two periods. Too often, they seemed to all but give up as soon as the opponent took the lead. During their successful period, it’s 5-1-0 when trailing after one period, and 4-1-0 after two. They generate 4.05 expected goals per 60 minutes in these situations, 3rd in the NHL, and are 8th in expected goals allowed in such situations.
We see a united team that refuses to give up and gives the opponent a hard time until the end. After several difficult seasons, it’s so good to see.
25
Newhook scoring chances in last 7 games
I talked about Alex Newhook last week and although he only has one goal in 2025, he is possibly playing his best hockey since wearing the Canadiens uniform. Over the last few weeks, especially since the game against the Vancouver Canucks on January 6, he has been much more explosive and continues to impress me, something he didn’t do at the start of the season. He has always been an excellent skater, and he now uses that speed to get around opposing defenders and into dangerous positions.
This kind of explosion was missing from his game at the start of the season and it’s good to see sequences like this becoming more and more common. Since January 6, he leads all CH players with 25 shots attempted from the slot and 9 chances entering the zone.
In the long term, Newhook is probably not part of the top-6 of the Canadian, especially with the expected arrival of Ivan Demidov next year, but on a third trio, alongside Jake Evans and Emil Heineman, for example? That would give CH three lines that can apply offensive pressure to the opponent, without sacrificing too much defensively.
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