‘Pathetic Crybaby’ — NHL World Outraged as Canadiens’ Lane Hutson Gets Violently Slashed But Brayden Point Goes Unpunished

The Montreal Canadiens took charge of the series with a composed road win that exuded complete control in the final period. They responded early to build pressure and handled late-game situations with discipline to hold their edge. Still, the focus has shifted away from the result to a controversial sequence during play.

As frustration grew in the game, an incident involving Lane Hutson went uncalled that many thought was a miss. With Hutson logging heavy minutes among the greener defenders, the hit gave Montreal more than enough cause for concern. Now, the play has raised questions about consistency in officiating.

NHL World Reacts As Lane Hutson Incident Sparks Outrage

Hutson became the center of attention after a second-period sequence that went unpenalized despite visible contact. In the play, it was clear that Brayden Point was involved when Hutson took a high stick to the face and a follow-up slash to the leg. The officials did not call a penalty, and play continued, eventually leading to a Tampa Bay goal.

The lack of a whistle triggered immediate reactions from analysts and media figures who questioned how the situation was handled. One analyst posted the clip online on X and wrote, “This is just insane. What the hell are we doing here? Every game. It’s every game.”

That frustration was echoed by NHL writer Jim Biringer, who also shared the play while adding context from earlier in the series. He wrote, “Considering the first game when there was a similar play and that player got called for high sticking, it is a miss. But there are a lot of misses throughout the game.”

Fan reactions also followed quickly, with the Canadiens’ Reddit community voicing its own frustration. The account shared the clip and wrote, “What a pathetic crybaby play by Brayden Point slashing Lane Hutson.”

From a reporting standpoint, Patrick Caisse added further detail after reviewing the footage. He wrote, “On the replay, we can also see a violent two-handed stick blow from Point to Hutson’s legs. I really don’t understand how the referees can ignore two consecutive actions of that kind.”

This was not the first, as a comparable play involved a slash from Nikita Kucherov on Zachary Bolduc that drew attention, adding to the perception of uneven officiating across the game. The consistency of enforcement has now become a significant talking point as the series progresses.

Amid the controversy, Montreal still secured a 3-2 win with strong contributions across the lineup. Brendan Gallagher scored in his return, Kirby Dach answered after a Tampa Bay goal, and Alexandre Texier netted the winner in the third period. Jakub Dobes handled pressure in the net, stopping 38 shots to close out the game.

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With the Canadiens now leading the series 3-2, focus shifts to Game 6 in Montreal.