Lane Hutson shines in Habs first game at the Bell Centre of 2025

The Montreal Canadiens continued rolling against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night, and their rookie sensation Lane Hutson put on a show.

You have to expect that something interesting will happen anytime two defensemen that can grab the puck and take over the entire 200-foot rink play against each other. Hughes at the Bell Centre alone, is worth the price of admission; as Eric Engels put it. But Hutson wasn't hearing any of that, he wanted two points and his first goal on home ice at the Bell Centre deflected off Hughes's skate in past Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen.

Hutson's goal was his second of three points on the night; which is indicative of how amped up and ready he was for the game. Generally, a Hutson point is pretty standard, but he was firing on all cylinders, and he could have had five or six points. He thinks that game at such a high level, you have to think that he will have a brilliant career.

You start to run out of things to say about Hutson because it is a regular thing for him to dash the puck through three zones, and make things happen at the flip of a dime. But he continues to impress and almost surprises with the misdirection that he throws defenders off with. A select few defenders in the National Hockey League can do what Hughes does, and I don't think Hutson should be left off that list.

Hutson saw how impressive his brother was in the World Junior championships, namely the Gold Medal game, and had to one-up him. A little brother versus brother rivalry sorta thing. Whatever it was, Hutson showed up to play as he always does, but he was flying.

The first point of the night for the new rookie points leader came on the Canadiens' third goal of the game. Kirby Dach finished off a three-way passing play with captain Nick Suzuki and Hutson for his sixth of the season. With Laine out for his third-straight game, Dach has taken advantage of the promotion to the top power-play unit.

Maybe not the prettiest of all of Hutson's points, was his third, which was the primary assist on Suzuki's overtime game-winner. It was a quick exchange, and Suzuki snapped a 10-game goalless drought with the tally. Montreal put up a gritty, hard-nosed effort against the Canucks, and Hutson further solidified how special he is.

Hutson now has 30 points in 40 games, pacing all rookies in the category, despite being a defenseman. The native of North Barrington, Illinois, tied Hughes as the fifth-fastest American-born defenseman to score 30 points, doing so in 42 games. Sometimes you just sit there in awe watching excellence.

Suzuki's overtime winner has Habs in playoff spot

While Suzuki continues battling to maintain a point-per-game clip, his latest point, the game-winner against the Canucks put the Habs in an Eastern Conference's wildcard spot with 43 points. We're just starting 2025, but this was a team that before Christmas looked so far out of the playoff picture. It may be true that the Habs don't compete for the Stanley Cup this year, but their brilliant play can't be discredited.

Suzuki's 12th goal of the season was his third of three points, including two assists. No. 14 currently has 41 points through, seating him just above (ppg) through 40 games. Suzuki has played passer more than shooter thus far, with 29 assists to his 12 goals.