Pretty Kool Night For Pernell Karl Subban
Rookie defenseman P.K. Subban not only registered his first career NHL hat trick against the Minnesota Wild last night, but it was also the first ever hat trick registered by a rookie Canadiens’ D-man. For a player who has been under the gun for some of his on-ice antics, he continues to impress. Stay thirsty, my friend.
Ryan White Gets His Due
White was a player that many thought should have been chosen to the Habs’ roster over Tom Pyatt out of training camp. Yesterday, he showed the critics why. He scored his first NHL goal just 31 seconds into the game. Then, after Clayton Stoner, a Minnesota defenseman, took a healthy run at Canadiens’ rookie Aaron Palushaj, White dropped the gloves in defense of his teammate. He then registered an assist on P.K. Subban’s third period marker, giving him a “Goldie Howe” hat trick. His buddies should have shown him plenty of love on the flight home.
Palushaj Seeing Stars
After the aforementioned hit by Clayton Stoner, Aaron Palushaj went to the Canadiens’ dressing room, and was examined by team doctors, as per the new concussion guidelines imposed by the NHL. He returned in the third period. Great news for the Canadiens, who are already short of bodies.
Coach Martin Needs To Get His Thinking In Order
I couldn’t help but think about Coach Jacques Martin after yesterday’s game. No, not because the Canadiens laid a whooping on the Minnesota Wild, but because of his use of his timeout, or lack thereof. In a game where you lead by six goals with less than seven minutes to play, why do you have to use a timeout to rest your players? Just two night earlier, when your star goaltender was seeing shots beat him at every turn, why didn’t you call one then? It seems to me that, not only Martin, but NHL coaches is general are so preoccupied with saving their timeout for an ill-timed icing call instead of using it when it really mattered. It’s a trend that’s really starting to piss me off.
The Infirmary – 1
It was great to see Canadiens’ mammoth D-man Hal Gill return to the lineup last night. He had battled the flu for the past few days, and was scracthed from the lineup on Thursday and Friday.
Et Cetera
Penguins’ forward Matt Cooke took another step out of the NHL yesterday, when he hit Rangers’ defenseman Ryan McDonagh with a flying elbow. Clearly, he was targeting the rookie defenseman’s head on the play. Even his own coach threw him under the bus in the post-game press conference. But I wonder? Was it because of the nature of the penalty, or because the 5 minute major that was assessed ultimately cost the Penguins the game?
Considering how Stoner left his feet when making his hit on Aaron Palushaj, would it be considered a suspendable offense by NHL brass? While it didn’t seem that he was targeting the head, it was most certainly charging.
Check out my buddy Kyle Roussel’s piece on the NHL GM Meetings at Cowhide and Rubber
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