If there’s one player Martin St-Louis doesn’t have much to complain about, it’s Lane Hutson. The Canadiens head coach had so much confidence in his young defenseman that he played him for half of Thursday’s game.

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Hutson was given more responsibility against the Los Angeles Kings due to the absence of Mike Matheson, who left the game late in the first period with a mysterious upper-body injury.

“He doesn’t take a shift off. I like the consistency of his willingness to fight. He drives possession. “For a guy who played 30 minutes, he gave everything to try and help the team,” praised St-Louis.

Hutson, for his part, didn’t know he had played 30:05 minutes.

“I feel good, I’ve kept my appearances short and I’m ready to play again!” continued the young American, who doesn’t feel any pressure when the crowd at the Bell Center goes crazy as soon as he grabs the puck.

The 20-year-old rookie has never played so much at Boston University.

“Maybe 27 minutes when we were five defenders. [Ce soir]“It was really crazy and cool at the same time,” he said. […] It’s good to see that I can play so much and it’s a good way to learn. But I would have liked to win.”

Disappointing and immature

The Canadian offered little resistance against the Kings, who had lost in Toronto the day before. A performance that disappointed both St-Louis and Suzuki.

“It’s disappointing, we performed immaturely. We didn’t make life difficult for them, they played yesterday [mercredi] and they arrived late. We let them relax,” said the captain, disappointed in the dressing room after the 4-1 defeat.

“We need to be more mature,” Jake Evans added. This reconstruction has been going on for a while. It’s time to step up our game. The secret to winning in this league is to keep the games simple.”

Nick Suzuki tried to block a throw from Alex Laferriere. – Photo MARTIN CHEVALIER

The temptation

Everything could have been different for St-Louis if his protégés had used one of their strengths: the forecheck.

“If you try to play on the blue line when there is no surplus, you benefit the other team. She doesn’t have to defend and put pressure on the puck. There is nothing pleasant about stealing the puck, but it is part of a recipe to improve our chances of winning,” explained the head coach.

“It’s a sign of youth. There are many moments when it is tempting to play the game. When you’re young, it’s easy to be tempted,” St-Louis said.

Phillip Danault once again dominated the faceoff circle with a success rate of 63%. – Photo MARTIN CHEVALIER

Matheson on the sidelines

No new information has been released in the Matheson case. But his absence in the last two periods has been noticeable.

“He’s a dominant player in the NHL. When he’s not on the ice, it’s a big hole. […] He is a player who does a lot for us and plays extremely well against big opposing lines. Losing a man like him always hurts,” admitted David Savard.

-With Jonathan Bernier

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