Lane Hutson went to the box tonight without his stick ever touching Steven Stamkos, and the Canadiens had to go shorthanded against Nashville.
The replay is about as clear as these things get. No contact at all, and the whistle still went.
That's a bad call. There's no softer way to put it.
And there's no on-ice review for a whistle like that, so it stands no matter what the video shows.
It's like getting a speeding ticket while your car is parked in the driveway.
The timing made it worse. Stamkos has 3 goals this season, and 2 of them came on the power play.
The 36-year-old carries an $8,000,000 cap hit, and handing him extra space with the man advantage is the last thing Montreal wanted.
Here is the clip :
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Montreal gets robbed by a shocking penalty call involving Lane Hutson and Stamkos
The penalty overshadowed a bigger lineup story. Martin St-Louis paired Hutson with Noah Dobson tonight.
The 22-year-old came into the night with 4 assists and a +2 rating.
Dobson has one assist through three games and a -2 rating. That's thin production for a $9,500,000 cap hit.
The logic looks simple enough. Give Dobson a partner who moves the puck with confidence and hope some of it rubs off.
Can one young defenseman carry a pairing and a slumping partner at the same time? St-Louis is betting yes.
Michael Matheson and Alexandre Carrier form the second pair, sitting at -3 and +3 respectively.
Arber Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom round out the third pair on the back end.
Up front, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky make up the top line. Suzuki leads the team with 6 points.
The second line got a full overhaul, with Chris Kreider, Alex Newhook and Josh Anderson skating together.
Zachary Bolduc has 3 goals in 3 games and lines up with Phillip Danault and Alexandre Texier on the third unit.
Kirby Dach lands on the fourth line with Florian Xhekaj and Jake Evans, carrying a -2 rating into tonight.
Montreal entered the night on a two-game skid after allowing 14 goals through three games.
Detroit visits Saturday. How many games does St-Louis give the new top pair before he reaches for something else?
Was the penalty on Lane Hutson a blown call by the officials?
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