Canadiens Daily
Habs Daily: Hutson Leads Rookies, Suzuki On Fire, Wildcard Spot
Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Monday.
Montreal Canadiens News
With a three-point effort against the Vancouver Canucks, Lane Hutson leads all rookies in scoring. His 30 points give him a one-point lead over Matvei Michkov and a two-point lead over Macklin Celebrini. The Habs won’t play until Friday, which means there’s a decent chance one of the forwards will pass him, but you’d be hard-pressed to say the Canadiens defenceman is not in the midst of a special season, and given that it’s just his first, the best is yet to come.
Your newest rookie scoring leader after a three-point night.
Lane Hutson. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/75BjM9vcD5
— NHL (@NHL) January 7, 2025
Don’t look now, but the Habs are tied for the last wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Or maybe do look now, because we don’t know how long it’ll last. Either way, their latest well-deserved win came against the Vancouver Canucks in overtime, and though Hutson certainly played his part, so did team captain Nick Suzuki. [Habs Highlights: Lane Hutson Powers Habs To Another Win]
Speaking of Suzuki, he also enjoyed a three-point night. He’s now back to producing at a point-per-game pace, with 12 goals and 29 assists in 40 games. Hopefully the level of respect for Suzuki around the NHL will one day rise to a reasonable level, because he has been the epitome of consistent as the Canadiens’ captain.
I’d also like to point out the type of action that has led to Suzuki being among the most respected players by the referees, as he went out of his way to congratulate Eric Furlatt for officiating his 1500th NHL game. While some prefer to run their mouths endlessly all game, in the long run, that type of respect pays off in spades, and Suzuki knows it.
La classe! 👏
Nick Suzuki va remettre la rondelle de match à Éric Furlatt, qui officiait son 1500e match ce soir. pic.twitter.com/HrmgtMOGKv
— RDS (@RDSca) January 7, 2025
Here’s the most recent impressive stat producing during Hutson’s Calder-worthy season. On that note, no rookie defenceman has reached 60 points since the legendary Nick Lidstrom. Hutson is currently on pace for 61 points.
Lane Hutson factored on three of five @CanadiensMTL goals and joined Chris Chelios (17 in 1984-85) and Guy Lapointe (10 in 1970-71) as the third rookie defenseman in franchise history with at least eight multi-point games in a single season. #NHLStats: https://t.co/QjOw8A21KZ pic.twitter.com/k9Vp5JrsX1
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 7, 2025
St-Louis is giving the Canadiens the day off tomorrow, something he’s done with frequency during the last stretch. Not only have the Habs dealt with a lot of travel, they’re also playing incredibly well, and there’s a point of diminishing return when it comes to forcing hot teams to practice.
Besides, it’s clear the Habs are in the zone right now. Rewarding them for their hard work is a sound strategy.
The Habs vibes are immaculate right now 😎
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 7, 2025
Just in case you aren’t already completely spellbound by Hutson’s on-ice play, he’s also a great person off the ice.
During the holidays, Lane Hutson, along with his brothers & his parents, spent time with sick kids & their families at the Ronald McDonald House in Montreal.
A great player on the ice who’s even better person off the ice ♥️ pic.twitter.com/Bp7FkDjtdn
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 6, 2025
Some sad news to report, as former Canadiens head coach Al MacNeil passed away at the age of 89. The Nova Scotian won the Cup for the Canadiens during his only season at the helm of the bench (1970-71), and was the winningest coach in AHL history. [NHL]
