Lane Hutson isn’t sure why Canadiens ‘couldn’t bring better’ vs. Hurricanes

The Montreal Canadiens are out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs following their Game 5 loss on Friday night. Lane Hutson and his teammates were torn apart by the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5. As a result, Carolina is off to the Stanley Cup Final, and Montreal is heading toward the offseason.

It’s a stunning turn of events, especially with how Game 1 ended for the Canadiens. Though the underdogs in the series, Montreal punched Carolina in the mouth early on. The Habs won Game 1 by the score of 6-2 after the Hurricanes didn’t really show up to begin the East Final. However, this quickly changed, and it’s left Montreal wondering just what happened.

“Not really sure, maybe a combination of things. They played really well too, but I’m not really sure why we couldn’t bring better. We’re still far off, and we know it,” the Canadiens defenseman said after Game 5, via Sportsnet.

The Canadiens certainly overachieved in this postseason run, but it was an incredible run nonetheless. Montreal defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in a classic seven-game series in round one. In round two, they again went seven games, taking down the Buffalo Sabres in a chaotic, back-and-forth series.

Unfortunately, their run ends three wins short of the Stanley Cup Final. But this is certainly an experience the young Canadiens can learn from. They will have to stomach watching the Final from the sidelines, though. The Hurricanes face the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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