Lane Hutson must balance Risk vs. Reward while adapting to NHL

Lane Hutson will have many great nights in the NHL before his career ends. He'll also have some nights where his offensive style gets him into trouble, which happened on Tuesday night against the New York Rangers. Hutson was -2 ten minutes into the first period, and his aggressive style could take some blame for both goals.

The first goal wasn't wholly Hutson's fault, and he was a Jacob Trouba blocked shot away from scoring his first career NHL goal. Hutson danced around the offensive zone and made nice moves around the defenders. He tried to set up his teammates but was unable to do it. However, he stuck on his one-timer side and received a pass with a wide-open net.

Hutson's one-timer hit Trouba in the leg, which started a counter-attack for the Rangers. The forwards covered for Hutson, and his job as the third man back was to stay high and take away the passing option for New York's F3. Instead, Hutson sunk deep into the zone to cover the front of the net, which led to Mika Zibanejad getting free and putting home the game's first goal.

The second minus for Hutson was much uglier. He tried to do too much carrying the puck out of the zone, which led to a turnover in center ice and a breakaway for Reilly Smith. Smith made no mistake about the opportunity and slid home the Rangers' third goal. It contributed to a 4-0 Canadiens deficit in the first period, which had the makings of a blowout loss for the Canadiens. Nick Suzuki got one back to enter the intermission with a 4-1 score.

It's all part of Hutson's growing pains. He must learn that he can't dance around the opposition every night and every play like he did in the USHL and at Boston University. The Rangers could be Montreal's best opponent yet this season, so it is a good game for the young players to learn these lessons. With a 4-1 deficit after the first, it isn't hard to tell that it's one of the league's Stanley Cup contenders taking on a rebuilding franchise.