“Not good enough”: Lane Hutson gets brutally honest about his performance in disappointing 5-2 loss to Senators

Lane Hutson reflected on his performance in the Montreal Canadiens' 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday. The Canadiens would have clinched a playoff spot with a win, but the Senators instead extended their lead from the NJ Devils, who hold the first wild card in East.

Speaking to the media during post-game interviews, Hutson talked about the tough game.

"It was a little bit tougher tonight. I mean, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy, so we definitely didn’t do ourselves any favors," Hutson said. [2:52]

Lane Hutson said that he wasn’t happy with his own play either.

"Not good enough, just simple. Tough start to the game, obviously, but just not good enough," Hutson told reporters.

Despite failing to get points in the last two games, Hutson has been strong overall. He has 64 points (6 goals, 58 assists) in 79 games and is a top rookie.

Hutson is averaging almost 23 minutes per game and helps both on defense and offense. He's a strong Candidate for the Calder Trophy, with more points than Macklin Celebrini and Matvei Michkov.

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Lane Hutson's linemate Kaiden Guhle is positive about Canadiens' upcoming games

Shane Pinto scored twice for Ottawa, and their top line controlled much of the game. The Senators scored twice early and never relinquished their ead. Ridly Greig, Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens also scored, while Linus Ullmark made 20 saves in goal for Ottawa.

Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle, who's Lane Hutson's linemate, said that the team made things difficult by trying to be too fancy.

"I think we were just trying to maybe be a little too cute sometimes. We talk about it — it’s playoff hockey, there’s not much space out there," Guhle said. "You just got to keep the pucks moving and keep it on the walls, go chase it.

"We didn’t really give our forwards much chance to forecheck tonight, and that’s our bread and butter. I think there were just times when maybe we tried to make plays and just held on to the puck too long. You got to move it quick and keep it going."

Montreal scored twice, with goals from Christian Dvorak and Nick Suzuki. Sam Montembeault made 28 saves in the loss. Guhle stayed positive despite the loss.

"No, we got another great opportunity tomorrow against another rival, so I think we’ll be just fine," Guhle said.

The Canadiens have a 39-31-9 record with 87 points and hold the second wild card spot in the East. With three games left, Lane Hutson’s two-way play will continue to be important in their push for the playoffs.