Sidney Crosby repeatedly punched P.K. Subban's face into the ice in Game 5

By Hemal Jhaveri / For The Win / USA Today | June 8, 2017 9:22 pm

P.K. Subban spent all of Game 3 and Game 4 in Nashville getting under Sidney Crosby’s skin, needling him on and off the ice. In Game 5, Crosby fired back and it went beyond gamesmanship after the final whistle.

At the tail end of the first period, and with the Penguins leading 2-0, Crosby and Subban clashed near the boards behind the net, with Crosby holding Subban down and repeatedly pushing his head into the ice.

The referees were occupied with action on the other end of the ice and didn’t seem to notice or ignored Crosby keeping Subban down for so long.

Sidney Crosby shoving P.K. Subban's head into the ice over and over. Off-setting minors. #Preds pic.twitter.com/B7mUbDat1P

— Mark Harris (@TweetsByHarris) June 9, 2017 >

Players often see what they can get away with from the refs, but this is an egregious missed call, which should have been a five-minute major for Crosby at minimum. Instead, Crosby and Subban got matching two-minute minors, because Subban, when he was finally was able to get up, shoved Crosby.

This play certainly isn’t going to help Crosby’s reputation as a dirty player who is coddled by the league, nor should it.

Speaking to the media after the Penguins 6-0 win, Crosby said Subban was holding his legs.

“He was doing some UFC move on my foot. So I don’t know what he was trying to do. But I was trying to get out of there.”

Subban dismissed the play as “just hockey,” but his coach Peter Laviolette was less willing to overlook the incident.

“I don’t understand it,” he said. “I really don’t understand the call. I saw my guy get his head cross-checked into the ice 10 times. I don’t even know what he did, P.K. I’m not sure. I disagree with the call.”

P.K. Subban's family goes nuts after Predators win

Celebrations broke out all around Nashville when the Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks 6-3 on Monday to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final. The Subban household may have had them all beat.

Predators defenseman P.K. Subban's family members packed their home for an intimate affair that got no less frenzied than the parties inside and outside of Bridgestone Arena when Nashville sealed the win.

#StanleyCupFinals here we come!!!! Subban household on 🔥#StandWithUS #PKApproved #PKSF pic.twitter.com/LOyCLFkue5

— PK Subban Foundation (@PKSF1) May 23, 2017

Though it's hard to tell who's who in that lively scene, Subban's immediate family consists of parents Karl and Maria, sisters Natasha and Nastassia, and brothers Malcolm and Jordan, each of whom also plays professional hockey.

The gang's all here! @NHL pic.twitter.com/tlAto20wbd

— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) June 22, 2016

Subban is known as one of the most funloving stars in the NHL. It seems that trait might run in the family.

News & Notes: Canadiens win, spoil P.K. Subban return to Montreal

LATE CANADIENS GOAL SPOILS SUBBAN'S RETURN TO MONTREAL

Paul Byron scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway with 8.3 seconds remaining in the third period to power the Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens (36-21-8, 80 points) to a 2-1 defeat of the Nashville Predators on Thursday for their fourth straight win.

* Former Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban had an assist in his first game in Montreal since being traded to the Predators for defenseman Shea Weber on June 29.

* Subban was brought to tears during a standing ovation from fans at Bell Centre after a video tribute was aired prior to the start of the game.

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

WASHINGTON 1, New Jersey 0
NY Rangers 2, BOSTON 1
PHILADELPHIA 2, Florida 1 (SO)
COLUMBUS 1, Minnesota 0
BUFFALO 6, Arizona 3
MONTREAL 2, Nashville 1
OTTAWA 2, Colorado 1
NY Islanders 5, DALLAS 4
LOS ANGELES 3, Toronto 2 (SO)
SAN JOSE 3, Vancouver 1

CAPITALS SET FRANCHISE RECORDS WITH (ANOTHER) SHUTOUT WIN

Jakub Vrana scored and Braden Holtby made 15 saves for his NHL-leading eighth shutout of the season as the Washington Capitals (43-13-7, 93 points) extended their home winning and point streaks to 14 and 16 games (15-0-1), respectively, to eclipse previous records set in 2009-10.

* Washington became the first team with a home winning streak of 14 or more games since 2011-12, when the Detroit Red Wings set the NHL record with 23 consecutive home victories, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

* The Capitals, who lead the NHL with 26 home wins this season (26-5-1, 53 points), have 10 shutouts at Verizon Center, including six during their 14-game winning streak. Prior to this season, Elias notes that their record for home shutouts in one season was seven, set in 1995-96.

* Holtby improved to 18-0-2 with a 1.71 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and five shutouts in his past 20 decisions. He's two shy of his NHL high for consecutive decisions with a point (20-0-2 in 2015-16). Elias notes that one other goaltender in NHL history has had multiple stretches of 20 straight decisions with at least a point within a single season: Pete Peeters in 1979-80 (27 games) and 1982-83 (31 games).

BLUE JACKETS, RANGERS KEEP PACE IN METROPOLITAN DIVISION

The Columbus Blue Jackets (40-16-6, 86 points) and New York Rangers (41-21-2, 84 points) won to keep pace with the League-leading Capitals in the crowded Metropolitan Division, where seed Nos. 2-4 are separated by two points:

* Brandon Saad scored early in the third period and Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves as the Blue Jackets blanked the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild to reach the 40-win mark for the fourth time. Bobrovsky had his 33rd win of 2016-17 to set an NHL career high and match the Blue Jackets record for most wins in a season by a goaltender, which had been set by Steve Mason in 2008-09.

* Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves while celebrating his 35th birthday to backstop the Rangers to their League-leading 22nd road win of the season (22-8-0, 44 points). It was Lundqvist's 403rd NHL win (734 GP) to tie Grant Fuhr for 10th on the all-time list and match the NHL record for most wins by a goaltender in his first 12 seasons (Martin Brodeur: 403 in 740 GP).

SOLID FIRST IMPRESSIONS GUIDE SENATORS, FLYERS
The Ottawa Senators (34-22-6, 74 points) and Philadelphia Flyers (30-26-7, 67 points) each secured wins via key performances from recent acquisitions:

* Alexandre Burrows scored both goals in his team debut to guide the Senators to victory, keeping pace with the Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic Division. Elias notes that Burrows became the fourth Senators player to score twice in his team debut, joining Doug Smail (Oct. 8, 1992 vs. MTL), Brian Glynn (Oct. 6, 1993 vs. QUE) and Dan Quinn (March 17, 1994 at SJS).

* Valtteri Filppula scored the game-tying goal in his Flyers debut and Jakub Voracek (0-1-1) scored the game-deciding goal in the shootout as the Flyers defeated the Florida Panthers 2-1. Filppula, who was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, snapped a 15-game drought with his first goal since Jan. 17 at the Anaheim Ducks.

ISLANDERS, KINGS RALLY TO MOVE INTO FINAL WILD CARD SPOTS

The New York Islanders (30-22-10, 70 points) and Los Angeles Kings (31-27-6, 68 points) overcame multigoal deficits to move into the final wild card spots in their respective conferences:

* Ryan Strome had two goals and an assist to help the Islanders overcome a 3-1 deficit and move ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs (28-21-14, 70 points) for the last wild card from the Eastern Conference.

* The Kings overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third period and Anze Kopitar (1-0-1) scored the decisive goal in the shootout as the Kings improved to 3-1-2 in their past six games to leapfrog the idle St. Louis Blues (31-26-5, 67 points) for the final wild card from the Western Conference.

LOOSE PUCKS

Marcus Sorensen scored the game-winning goal, his first in the NHL, to help the Pacific Division-leading San Jose Sharks (38-18-7, 83 points) extend their point streak to eight games (5-0-3). … Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel had one goal and two assists to extend his point streak to eight games (2-9-11). … Brent Burns (5-5-10 in 7 GP), Brayden Schenn (3-4-7 in 6 GP) and Jamie Benn (4-3-7 in 5 GP) also extended point streaks. … Brad Marchand scored for the fourth consecutive game (4-4-8). … Forwards Joshua Ho-Sang (NYI), J.T. Compher (COL) and Kevin Rooney (NJD) made their NHL debuts. … Hockey Hall of Fame play-by-play broadcaster Bob Miller will return to the Kings TV broadcast booth in April and then retire upon the conclusion of the regular season.

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY'S ACTION

All Times Eastern

Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh, 7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, NHL, ROOT, SUN, NHL.TV
Arizona @ Carolina, 7:30 p.m., FS-SE, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV
St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8 p.m., TSN3, FS-MW, NHL.TV
NY Islanders @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m., WGN, MSG+, NHL.TV
Detroit @ Calgary, 9 p.m., SNW, FS-D, NHL.TV
Toronto @ Anaheim, 10 p.m., FS-W, TSN4, NHL.TV

KUCHEROV, LIGHTNING LOOK TO CONTINUE HOT STREAK

Nikita Kucherov and the Lightning (29-25-8, 66 points) take on Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (38-16-8, 84 points) at PPG Paints Arena. The Lightning are 7-1-2 in their past 10 games and are four points behind the Islanders (30-22-10, 70 points) for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. Kucherov leads the Lightning with 27-34-61 this season (55 GP) and has 12 points (six goals, six assists in his past four games, becoming the first Lightning player with 12 points in a four-game span since Vincent Lecavalier from Nov. 10-19, 2007 (5-7-12). Meanwhile, defenseman Mark Streit will make his debut with the Penguins after being acquired in a trade with the Lightning on Wednesday. Streit had been acquired by the Lightning from the Flyers earlier in the day.

DID YOU KNOW?

On March 3, 1875, the first hockey game played under organized rules was held at Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. The game, which was played on a rink with no boards, featured two nine-man teams made up mainly of university students in a game that was divided into two halves.

- NHL Public Relations

P.K. Subban skates with Predators

NASHVILLE -- Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban skated with his teammates for the first time since Dec. 15 on Thursday. 

Subban participated in an optional morning skate in advance of Nashville's game against the Boston Bruins at Bridgestone Arena (8 p.m. ET; SNO, TVA Sports, FS-TN, NESN, NHL.TV).

Subban has missed 12 games because of an upper-body injury and was placed on injured reserve Jan. 1. The prognosis was that he'd miss 2-3 weeks before being re-evaluated.

"Subban, as we talked about last week, we gave a two to three week timeframe," Predators general manager David Poile told 102.5 The Game in Nashville on Tuesday. "I think that's still looking good but I think it's probably going to be closer to the three weeks than the two weeks. He's skating and making progress. All I can say is the sooner the better. We need everybody back right now." 

The Predators (18-16-7) are 5-4-3 without Subban and one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. 

"It's good to see him there," coach Peter Laviolette said Thursday. "Anytime somebody's been off the ice for a while, [Subban] or [forward James Neal], whoever, it's always positive when they start mixing back in with the group."

Acquired by the Predators in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Shea Weber on June 29, Subban has seven goals and 10 assists in 29 games. He was named Central Division captain for the 2017 Honda NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

- NHL.com/Robby Stanley.

HUGE TRADES/SIGNINGS in NHL on Wednesday; Subban, Larsson, Hall, Weber all traded, Stamkos signs with Lightning

- Taylor Hall traded to New Jersey Devils by Edmonton Oilers for Adam Larsson

- Steven Stamkos resigns with Tampa Bay Lightning, won't be traded. Deal is 8 yrs., $68M total in that span.

- PK Subban traded to Nashville Predators by Montreal Canadiens for Shea Weber.

Medical update - Carey Price not to return to action this season

Press Release from the Canadiens website.

MONTREAL – Canadiens’ general manager Marc Bergevin announced Tuesday that goaltender Carey Price will not return to action this season. The decision was made last night by the Canadiens’ medical staff, head team physician Vincent Lacroix, head orthopedic surgeon Paul Martineau, with Marc Bergevin and Carey Price.

“Now that Carey Price’s season has officially ended, here is a detailed description of his injury: Carey sustained a medial collateral ligament injury (MCL sprain) to his right knee on November 25th, 2015 in a game against the NY Rangers. The MCL provides support to the inside of the knee and is essential for stability and knee function. Acute, isolated MCL injuries are managed without surgery. Rehabilitation treatments lead to full functional recovery. The recovery process can be long in the case of an elite netminder such as Carey, due to the high demand placed on this anatomical structure by modern goaltending techniques. Although Carey has made excellent progress and is very close to being able to return to competition, he has not presently been cleared to do so. He is expected to make a full recovery over the off-season. This injury was not the same as the one he suffered earlier this season (October 29th at Edmonton), nor in previous years,” said the Canadiens’ head physician, Dr. Vincent Lacroix.

The Canadiens also announced that the following players will also be out for the remainder of the season due to injuries: P.K. Subban (neck), Mark Barberio (concussion), Victor Bartley (groin/broken foot) and Lucas Lessio (right knee).