Montreal defenceman P.K. Subban, right, celebrates a Canadiens goal with teammates Andrei Kostitsyn, centre, and Louis Leblanc during Saturday's win over the Kings. Subban got under the skin of some LA players for his teetering-on-the-edge play. (Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)
There's no question that Montreal Canadiens defenceman PK Subban gets under the skin of more than a few players in the NHL. He may have too much talent to be known as a so-called "pest," but that's exactly what he's become. Frustrating players around the league is part of his repertoire.
And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
After Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Kings, I asked my stats guy, Jason Murdoch, if it was possible to get the number of penalties a player has drawn. Within 30 minutes he had this to me:
Most penalties drawn:
Some thought Subban took a dive into the boards after a hit by Justin Williams. I think a play so near to the boards almost always results in a penalty by the official, especially if it looks like the player went in awkwardly. I wouldn't call Skinner or Brown divers and yet they draw quite a few penalties.
The missed call
The Montreal Canadiens did get lucky on one call in the third period when Jarret Stoll's stick was slashed and broken by PK Subban off the draw. The closest official's view was blocked by the body of Hal Gill and the official at centre ice couldn't tell if the stick broke due to the faceoff or due to the slash.
Officials are instructed that if they don't see the incident clearly then they shouldn't make the call based on what could have happened. Those of us who saw the reply easily saw that the stick was slashed by Subban and that it should have been a penalty, but because neither official has a clear view they could not make the call ... it happens. They aren't perfect!
Luc Robitaille
Luc Robitaille's son, Jesse (who is known as Jesserae), will digitally release his first album Dec. 6 called Pilot. The 16-year-old sang Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah in front of the Staples Centre on Friday night for a Christmas celebration and was outstanding. Check out this link to see more on the young Robitaille.
Justin Williams
After speaking with Justin Williams after his Thursday night game against Florida, there's no question that he's frustrated with not scoring in 17 games. He's tried everything to bust out of this slump. In fact, he even spray-painted his stick all black because he thought maybe the yellow on the stick was distracting him. He also changes his gloves several times throughout a game. He changed his gloves so many times that he ran out of spare pairs and the trainer had to spray-paint his vintage-coloured gloves black to match the uniform.
The bottom line for Justin is to continue to work hard. Kings coach Terry Murray stated that despite Williams' lack of goal production, he's still doing the little things right on the ice and is still confident with the puck.
"It's kind of like the Seinfeld episode where you just do the opposite of what you think," Williams said.
Cassie Campbell-Pascall
Canadian women's hockey icon Cassie Campbell-Pascall enters her fourth year with CBC'S Hockey Night in Canada broadcast team as a commentator, bringing more than 20 years of on-ice hockey experience.
During her illustrious career, Campbell took part in three Winter Olympic Games, captaining Canada's women's hockey team to gold in 2002 and 2006, and played in seven IIHF world championships. She retired from competitive hockey in August 2006.
Campbell began her broadcast career in 2002 and in October 2006, she made history when she became the first woman to do colour commentary on Hockey Night in Canada, while filling in for veteran Harry Neale.
