Martin St-Louis finally addressed Lane Hutson's scary injury situation

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Vincent Carbonneau
May 24, 2026  (10:43)

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Photo credit: Screenshot

Lane Hutson gave Martin St-Louis and the Canadiens a huge sigh of relief after the coach said Saturday morning that the defenseman is OK.

That is the best news Montreal could have asked for after the way Game 2 ended in Carolina.

For a few hours, the whole mood around the Canadiens felt a lot darker.

Hutson had looked furious after the hit late in overtime, and the way he struggled on the leg had fans fearing the worst heading into Game 3 at the Bell Centre.

That is why this update hits so hard.

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Montreal did not only lose 3-2 in overtime Friday night. It also looked like it might have lost one of the most important players in the lineup.

And on this roster, Hutson is not easy to replace.

He is one of the blue-line drivers of the whole team. He helps the Canadiens break pressure, move the puck cleanly, and keep pace with Carolina's speed through the neutral zone.

That is the real consequence of St-Louis' update.

The series is tied 1-1, which already made the return home feel important. But if Hutson had been seriously hurt, the entire shape of this matchup could have changed before Game 3 even arrived.

Instead, Montreal gets to reset.

That matters because the Canadiens were already dealing with enough after Game 2. Carolina adjusted well, squeezed Montreal's rush game, and held the Canadiens to only 12 shots on goal.

Even in that kind of loss, Hutson still mattered.

So hearing that he is fine changes the temperature around the room right away.

It also changes the conversation for St-Louis.

Instead of scrambling to patch a major hole on the back end, he can focus on the real problem from Friday night: getting his group back to cleaner exits, quicker counters, and more offense against a Hurricanes team that closed space much better in Game 2.

That is a much better problem to have.

The Canadiens split the first two games in Carolina, which is still a strong result. Now they come back to Montreal with the series even, their crowd waiting, and their young star defenseman apparently still standing.

That is not a small thing.

For fans, this is the kind of update that can change a whole day.

A few hours ago, people were bracing for bad news.

Now they get relief instead.

And with Lane Hutson still in the picture, the Canadiens still have a real chance to grab this series by the throat at home.

Previously

Henrik Sedin just sent a major warning to the Canucks and fans are reacting

Lane Hutson finally addressed his injury and Canadiens fans are worried

A massive twist just emerged in the Maple Leafs coaching search after a wild new name surfaced

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