In his article titled P.K. Subban: Should He Sit Again? , Rick Stephens set the table regarding the issue of Subban in the pressbox. Stevo has decided to take on the challenge of arguing why P.K. should be back in the line-up.
By Stevo, AllHabs.net
MONTREAL, QC.– After the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, in a game that saw the Habs blow a two goal lead, eventually losing 4-3 in overtime, the thought had never crossed my mind that Jacques Martin might decide to sit P.K. Subban the following game.
That’s exactly what happened, Subban was sat out last night as the Habs defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-1, and now Martin is silent about whether or not Subban will or will not sit for a second straight game.
Yes, I agree, P.K. Subban had a terrible game, his worst so far this year in my opinion. He took terrible decisions, did not play smart hockey, and took himself out of the play on two of the Oilers’ goals.
What I fail to understand is if he was not having a great game, why is it that Jacques Martin employed him that night for a total of 25:08 ice time, almost four minutes more then any other player on the Canadiens, and an increase of almost five minutes from the previous game against Buffalo? (four minutes more than his yearly average) Why is it that in his worst game, he was employed a lot more then he is on average?
That aside, has P.K. Subban been that bad this year? He has a goal and eight assists, that’s nine points tying him with Spacek for second in defencemen behind Hamrlik, that’s as much as Gomez. (Sorry Gomer, I think you’re funny)
He is regularly employed over twenty minutes per game (20:48) as a rookie, plays on the power play and the penalty kill, takes the body and has a laser beamer of a shot. He then combines this with blazing speed that allows him to make up for many (but not all) of his mistakes.
After saying all of this, I fail to understand how the Canadiens can possibly be a better team without a healthy P.K. Subban in the lineup.
I remember when it became obvious Subban would start the year with the Canadiens, everyone kept saying that he would not be perfect, and that he would make mistakes, and that Martin would best be served letting him play his style rather then trying to change him.
So here we are, and don’t get me wrong, I do agree that a message needed to be sent to Subban, you can’t let everything just go by, but was it really necessary to sit him out? One way I find useful for sending a message is using my mouth. Why not sit down with the guy, talk to him, explain to him positively what he can do to better his game? Why is sitting him out more effective then teaching him and sending him out again with a big show of confidence? I guess I see things differently.
Considering P.K. did have a very bad game, but also considering (as friend of AllHabs.net @Habswatch said on twitter) Subban has not put up consecutive bad games this season, I find it a little early to sit him. I also find it concerning that Martin has went on record as saying he’s still not certain whether Subban will sit out the next game as well.
What kind of message does this send to Subban? Let’s think here, doesn’t it send a message that he’s not allowed to have a really bad game? Isn’t this what happened? Doesn’t this happen to everyone in a season? Hasn’t this happened to almost everybody else so far this season? (Except for Price maybe).
I just hope that when Subban does come back on the ice, that he doesn’t hold back. That he continues to play his style of play, that he continues to take chances when he thinks there’s a chance worth taking. I wouldn’t want him to come back onto the ice nervous, and scared to make a mistake, with the fear that he might have to visit the press box again.
Am I worrying for nothing?
(Photo by Christinne Muschi, Reuters)