The Pittsburgh Penguins completely dominated the first 10 minutes of the game, the Montreal Canadiens didn’t even have a shot on net until that point and then… Lane Hutson got the puck into the offensive zone and started dancing.
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A little shake of the head, a little movement here and there and it sent NHL star Evgeny Malkin down the wrong path. He made a pass, recovered the puck and sent it into the slot, where the Canadiens got their first shot of the game, followed shortly by their second.
When Hutson dances, the momentum changes. I can’t explain it, but it gets the crowd out of their seats and gets his teammates going and believing. There was no goal in the sequence, but it was the wake-up call the Canadiens needed.
From zero shots to that point, they had six to end the period and even found the back of the net through Kaiden Guhle. Pittsburgh still leads 2-1, but Martin St-Louis has a momentum-changing player on his bench, a guy who wants the puck when the going gets tough and that’s a game-changer for a team that wants to be in the mix.
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