Lane Hutson Reaches 78 Points as Guy Lafleur Debate Sharpens

Lane Hutson added two assists in Game 5 against the Sabres on Thursday in Buffalo, and guy lafleur was part of the discussion again because the Canadiens defenseman finished with 78 points this season. That total stands behind only Larry Robinson over the last 115 years, which puts Hutson’s offensive season in rare company for Montreal.

Buffalo Helped Build the Total

One of the assists came when Phillip Danault won a faceoff and Hutson fed Josh Anderson for a goal on Thursday in Buffalo. Hutson now has 6 playoff assists, and he remained tied for third in the NHL in playoff assists with Jack Eichel and Nathan MacKinnon.

The playoff leaderboard gives the number some weight. Mitch Marner led the NHL with 8 assists, Martin Necas was second with 7, and Hutson sat just behind that pair while Montreal kept getting production from its top puck mover.

Robinson Behind the Benchmark

The 78-point mark also explains why the Canadiens keep putting Hutson in the same sentence as Guy Lafleur. Last year, Hutson already had the best season in Canadiens history for a rookie defenseman with 6-60-66, then he moved to 78 points this season and pushed the standard higher again.

That is the friction in the story: the tighter, more physical playoff game has not slowed him down. On Thursday night in Buffalo, Cole Caufield scored his first five-on-five goal of the playoffs, but Hutson remained the engine and barometer of the Canadiens by driving play from the blue line and turning one faceoff win into another chance.

Hutson Keeps Driving Montreal

For Montreal, the practical takeaway is simple. Hutson is not just piling up points in a long regular season; he is carrying that offense into the postseason, and the 78-point year is now the number that frames every comparison from Robinson to Lafleur.