The NHL makes final decision on Taylor Hall after controversial hit on Lane Hutson
The NHL has spoken on Taylor Hall's dangerous play on Lane Hutson, and Martin St-Louis won't like the answer one bit.
No suspension. No fine. No hearing. Hall walks free heading into Game 3 Monday night at the Centre Bell.
The hit came in Game 2 Saturday in Carolina, with Hall appearing to lead with the knee on Montreal's 22-year-old defenceman. The Hurricanes won the game 3-2 in overtime.
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Hutson is the engine of the Canadiens' attack. He just posted 78 points in 82 regular-season games, then added 14 points in 16 playoff contests, including 12 helpers.
Take him out of the lineup and Montreal's power play and transition game collapse overnight. Hall knew exactly where he was on the ice.
And the Department of Player Safety apparently saw nothing worth reviewing. Different player, different result?
Arber Xhekaj and the response no one is talking about yet
That's the part the league just opened up. Hall plays Game 3 in Montreal on Monday, in front of a building that watched the replay on loop for 48 hours.
Arber Xhekaj is right there in the lineup. He's logged 13 playoff games already at +5, and the Centre Bell crowd will be waiting for him to deliver a message.
Hall, 34, is a veteran on a $3.166M cap hit who has produced 12 points in 10 playoff games for Carolina this spring. He's not a fourth-liner picking a fight.
So how does Rod Brind'Amour deploy him at the Bell? Same minutes? Same shifts against the Hutson pairing? The Hurricanes' bench will have to answer that one in real time.
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The series sits 1-1. Montreal swept Carolina 3-0 in the regular season, winning 7-5, 5-2, and 3-1. The Canadiens have already proven they can beat this team.
What they haven't proven is whether they can do it without their best defenceman healthy. And that's the problem with letting a hit like this slide.
The league had a chance to draw a line. It didn't. Now the line gets drawn on the ice, and everyone in the Bell knows it.
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MAY 24, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Devon Toews | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Parker Kelly | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Manson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Martin Necas | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Dylan Coghlan | - | - | - | |
| Ross Colton | - | - | - | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | - | - | - | |
| Nic Dowd | - | - | - | |
| Jack Eichel | - | - | - | |
| Noah Hanifin | - | - | - | |
| Carter Hart | - | - | - | |
| Tomas Hertl | - | - | - | |
| Brett Howden | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||