Lane Hutson will be ready to play in Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis confirmed on Sunday. The defenseman suffered an awkward hit in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday, when opposing player Taylor Hall stuck out his knee to prevent Hutson’s advance during overtime.
According to The Athletic’s James Mirtle, the player wasn’t angered by Saturday’s incident with Hall, and he feels good and ready to go for Game 3:
” Hockey happens – that’s all. I was a little mad about the hit. Whatever. Definitely doesn’t feel great either (when that happens). But it is what it is. I’m good to go.” reported Mirtle
However, there are some reports from TNS Sports reporter Kenzie Lalonde that he will not be part of the lineup in Game 3 against the Hurricanes:
“St.Louis confirms Kapanen is out of the lineup tonight for Game 3. #Habs,” wrote the Canadian reporter
The information could point out to the fact that while he’s available to play, the Canadiens coaching staff has decided to go with a different lineup for Monday night’s game. Or perhaps, he’s healthy enough to play but somewhat limited.
Admittedly, the information provided by the coaching staff and the player is somewhat confusing.
Why all the confusion regarding Lane Hutson’s status?
Former French hockey player Antoine Roussel gave an explanation this Monday morning as to why Lane Hutson’s injury status is so inconsistent. It’s just the nature of a hard-hitting sport like hockey. All players are somewhat injured at this point in the season:
“He probably has bruises, but at this stage of the competition, every player is somewhat injured; you just have to block it out.”
What should worry Canadiens fans is how not having their top defenseman could impact them. Patrick Guillet brought this point during the weekend, pointing to how out of shape the Colorado Avalanche have looked in their own conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights, mainly due to missing their own top defenseman, Cale Makar. While he did play the third game of the series, the Avalanche is three games down.
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