Bishop ‘lucky,’ Subban suggests
Habs defenceman ready to take on Tampa Bay and erase 3-1 deficit
TAMPA, Fla. — P.K. Subban isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
In addition to being one of the top defencemen in the NHL, he’s also the most quotable player in the league. And Subban set the stage for Saturday’s Game 5 between the Canadiens and the Lightning at the Bell Centre by suggesting Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop has been lucky.
“I definitely think that us scoring six goals is huge; it’s huge for our confidence,” Subban said Thursday night after the Canadiens staved off elimination in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal with a 6-2 win in Tampa’s Amalie Arena.
Bishop, who has dominated the Canadiens over the past two seasons, was pulled Thursday after giving up three goals on 14 shots.
Tampa coach Jon Cooper said he pulled Bishop to rest him because he was playing on backto- back nights. That makes sense, but at the same time Bishop didn’t look comfortable, giving up several rebounds and, for the second time in this series, he allowed a goal that was in his glove.
“I think Bishop sort of was sitting on a horseshoe for a little bit there,” Subban said. “He’s played well, but he’s been lucky as well. I think seeing him pulled out of the net is a confidence booster for our team.”
When told about Subban’s horseshoe comment, Cooper told the Tampa Bay Times: “He may be right. Or Ben might be a good goalie.”
Cooper added: “P.K. is a character, he’s a fun guy to have in the league for statements like that.”
Subban’s comments are the kind that wind up on the bulletin board in the opposition’s dressing room. But he has been difficult to keep quiet since the day in 2007 when the Canadiens used a second-round pick at the NHL draft to select Subban, an offensively talented defenceman who wasn’t known for playing defence.
“I’m going to make Mr. (Bob) Gainey happy he drafted me,” Subban predicted at the draft.
Last year, when the Canadiens were headed to Boston for Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, Subban talked about relishing the challenge of going into the hostile environment of Boston Garden. Subban said he was looking forward to a nasty game and that the Canadiens wanted to take all the excitement away from the Boston fans. They did exactly that with a 3-1 win.
The challenge this time around is more difficult because the Lightning won the first three games in this series. It’s not impossible to come back from a 3-0 deficit, but it is improbable. It has happened only four times in the history of the NHL.
Toronto came back against Detroit in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final; the New York Islanders topped Pittsburgh in the first round in 1975; Philadelphia beat Boston in the 2010 Eastern Conference final and, most recently, Los Angeles opened its run to the Stanley Cup last spring by coming back from a 3-0 hole against San Jose.
As the Canadiens prepared to fly home Friday, coach Michel Therrien said the key to coming back was to play the same way the team has played in the first four games.
He said the Canadiens haven’t had a ton of puck luck in this series but, with the exception of Tampa’s 6-2 win in Game 2, the Canadiens have stuck to their game plan. They lost Game 1 in double overtime and Tyler Johnson scored with one second remaining to win Game 3.
The highlights of Game 4 included balanced scoring — six different players scored and 13 players collected at least one point — and contributions from special teams.
If the Canadiens win Saturday, Game 6 will be played Tuesday night in Tampa.