Friday, December 03, 2010

Subban Found the Press Box

Some inconsistent play and some hot-headedness was likely the cause of a trip up to the press box for P.K. Subban on Thursday night, as the Canadiens took on the Devils in New Jersey.  Subban has not contributed a great deal of offense in the past couple of weeks and has probably been the cause of more heart-palpations than show-stopping moments, so a night off was what the doctor (or the coach) ordered for a night.  Of course, the slight demotion was not going to stick, as he is expected back in the line-up on Saturday night.

In this, Subban's rookie season, he hasn't done a bad job with 1 goal and 9 assists in 25 games of his regular season career, but I think there may have been a little bit more hype to his joining the team, which may make some people believe he is underachieving.  At 21 years old, he is still a fresh face on an NHL blueline, so expectations have to be somewhat limited.  Still, his 9 points have him ranked 311th in pool scoring this year, 58th among defensemen scoring, so he should be right in the mix for drafted players.

ImplicationsIn the draft, John P. has to be fairly pleased with the play of Subban to start this season, since he is in the middle of the road of most defensemen scoring for pool selected players.  Still, John ranks 13th in the standings, 24 points out of the money going into Friday night's action.  Subban's return on Saturday will likely give the young blueliner a fresh outlook on his game and maybe some revitalized play.

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