The Montreal Canadiens have lost two back-to-back games in overtime. On top of that, a controversial moment may fuel their frustration. The incident involved Hurricanes forward William Carrier and Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson.

The controversial moment came in overtime when an altercation took place involving Carrier and Hutson near the boards. Multiple replay angles on Sportsnet showed Carrier’s arm and elbow near Hutson’s head. Hutson looked shaken after the incident. 

The issue was further escalated after the officials did not call a penalty on the play. Postgame reactions online were fast and intense. A few NHL analysts and insiders also called for a suspension and strongly criticized the NHL referees.

NHL analyst Kevin McCurdy criticized the overtime officiating on X.

“Holy s*** is this some terrible officiating in OT. Carolina gets away with m***** 2 or 3 separate times," he wrote. "And then they don’t call a blatant TMM, because the refs don’t want to deal with a r*** in Montreal because of the other stuff they let go."

Another NHL insider, Jimmy Murphy, asked for a suspension from the NHL Players' Safety.

“Suspension! Where are you @nhlplayersafety?" he wrote on X. "If the officials on the ice can’t do it, you need to.”

After that moment, Lane Hutson lost possession under pressure in his defensive zone. The Carolina Hurricanes quickly capitalized on this mistake, and winger Andrei Svechnikov scored the overtime winner at 14:06.

The mistake hampered the Canadiens' performance. With the incident resulting in no suspension, the referees' decision gained further spotlight.

Hurricanes Lead the Series Over Montreal Canadiens

After three games, the Carolina Hurricanes are leading the series 2-1. The Montreal Canadiens started the conference finals strongly with a 6-2 win.

But in the next two games, they fell short. Both matches were close, but Montreal capitulated in overtime and suffered defeats.

Montreal Canadiens coach, Martin St. Louis, stated after the game that these losses will help the team learn. He also credited the Hurricanes' maturity and felt that his team needed to close out the gap. 

“This whole experience, it’s part of our learning," he said after losing Game 3, as per Sportsnet. "There’s always learning in failure.”

With the Carolina Hurricanes leading the series 2-1, the controversy over the incident beween Carrier and Hutson and the no-penalty call is still growing. Many analysts are now asking if NHL Player Safety should give a suspension before Game 4 at the Bell Center.

The two teams will meet again on May 27, 2026, with the Canadiens hoping to level the tie at home.

Read more at the NHL Fan Central!

Written by

Kapil Manghnani

Edited by

Sijo Paul