Players try to put Subban sideshow behind them
Subban slash on Stone suggests ‘Hudson Bay rules’ apply to playoffs
The question was put to centre Mika Zibanejad, one of the young, skilled players who typifies the flavour of Senators hockey.
How do we explain to newcomers of the game, perhaps drawn to the playoff excitement, that one player would viciously slash another, to the tune of a small fracture in the wrist? That it would draw a major penalty, and a game misconduct but no further discipline or suspension from the NHL?
“It’s not good for our sport, getting away with that kind of stuff,” Zibanejad said, a day after Wednesday’s two-hander by P.K. Subban on Senators rookie winger Mark Stone in Montreal’s Game 1 victory.
And then this, on the idea the Senators could pledge to get even with Subban, carry out the sort of street justice hinted at by Senators head coach Dave Cameron in his emotional post-game news conference:
“We’ve still got to play hockey,” Zibanejad.
Yes, that. It’s imperative the Senators “play hockey” in Game 2 here Friday and not get detoured by the Subban Sideshow.
“We can’t let this be the big headline in our dressing room,” said veteran Senators defenceman Marc Methot.
Roles are reversed from the overheated — what else is new between these rivals? — series of 2013, when Senators defenceman Eric Gryba laid out Canadiens forward Lars Eller in Game 1, a “hockey play that went bad,” Senators general manager Bryan Murray described it Thursday when he went to the microphone to speak on the Subban-Stone slash, and the lack of league action on it.
Two years ago, when Eller was a bloody mess, cut from his own visor in the impact of the openice hit, the Canadiens were so distracted by the play they never recovered, falling in five games to the Senators. From head coach Michel Therrien to the last player on the fourth line, the Canadiens were too emotionally overwrought to focus on the task at hand — a quarter-final series against Ottawa.
So, kudos to Cameron for his calm demeanour Thursday, calling for “discipline over emotion” as the series resumes.
“The best way to get even is to win the hockey game,” Cameron said, a line echoed by tough guy winger Chris Neil, who may see his first game action since Feb. 14 if Stone is unable to go on Friday. Murray said Stone has little mobility in his right wrist due to the “micro-fracture,” although Stone will try to tough it out and play.
The Senators won’t stand much of a chance if they make Subban a target, beyond the standard physical abuse of the playoffs, and turn the series over to the Canadiens power play.
“I’d be really disappointed if my team starts chasing any one player around and we lose this series because we couldn’t deal with an incident,” Cameron said.
Murray suggested Subban was verbally threatening Stone prior to the slash. He wants the league to investigate that. Tricky area. When it comes to chirps and threats that go on between benches, it’s probably fair to say that death is threatened on a regular basis. (Ask Hall of Famer Dennis Potvin to go through his “I’m going to rip your eyes out,” routine. It’s a classic. And scary).
It’s the “lumberjack” (to borrow one of Clarke MacArthur’s terms) two-handers that are the real threat. The pros know what areas are sensitive and exposed. The backs of legs. Ankles (see file on Clarke/Kharlamov). And wrists/ forearms, especially for scorers.
How Stone’s stock has soared in the minds of opponents that this 22-year-old rookie from Winnipeg, a sixth-round draft pick, would be the player targeted, if that was the case. Prior to the slash, watching Stone control the puck in the Habs zone for close to 20 seconds — so long that his mates went for a line change and he continued to stick handle — it was easy to see why he’s such a threat. A 26-goal scorer and a defensive pickpocket, Stone was one of the NHL’s top few scorers from Jan. 1. He might win the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top first-year players.
Yes, the temperature is rising in Montreal, and that’s not to mention to the spring weather and crowded cafés. The playoff temperature is driving the series thermometer, with a Game 1 launch eerily similar to Game 1 the last time these teams met in the post-season.
How crazy is it that we’re talking about ‘PLAYER 61’ again? Stone’s number, and the number of former Habs defenceman Raphael Diaz, referred by then Sens head coach Paul MacLean as “player 61,” the guy who delivered the suicide pass to Eller, leading to Gryba’s hit.
Fast forward to the present: Slash delivered, fracture suffered. Coach threatens retaliation if the league doesn’t suspend. Yet, when the smoke clears from the NHL head office, there is no suspension to Subban, no fine to Cameron, no clear idea if Stone can return to play, and if so, to what level.
Former Senators coach Roger Neilson had a term for this chaos: “Hudson Bay Rules.” Anything goes. To a point.
Players will test the limits once again when hostilities resume on Friday. Cameron had it right. Round one features hockey at its nastiest.