• Subban loves to shoot the puck
• Larsson surprises with offensive punch
• Kucherov not happy with Lightning teammates
P.K. Subban loves playing hockey, Adam Larsson did something rare and Nikita Kucherov is frustrated.
Here are four things we learned in the NHL.
P.K. Subban solves Jake Allen
One of the biggest reasons the Blues beat the Minnesota Wild in Round 1 was the play of Jake Allen. His 1.47 goals-against average and .956 save percentage was second to only Nashville’s Pekka Rinne in the first round.
While Minnesota couldn’t solve Allen in even five games, P.K. Subban needed hardly any time at all in Game 1. Turns out the secret is just to shoot the puck really, really hard.
Subban actually had a quiet first round, picking up only two assists in the Predators’ sweep of the Blackhawks. But on Nashville’s first three goals, Subban fired a hard slapshot that either beat Allen outright or created a rebound for another Predator to bury.
Even though it kept leading to goals, Blues players continued to give Subban room to shoot and he happily took advantage.
In the third period the Blues stopped Subban from getting any shots and it almost paid off. St. Louis scored twice to tie the game at three, but a late goal from Vernon Fiddler ultimately secured the win for the road team.
While they didn’t win the game, that third-period shutdown of Subban showed that with him contained, the Predators offence goes quiet. If St. Louis wants to win the series, keeping Subban from getting shots has to be the first step.
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Predators lose Kevin Fiala to ugly injury
Kevin Fiala was one of the feel-good stories of the first round for the Predators but his playoffs may be over after an ugly leg injury suffered in Game 1 against the St. Louis Blues.
Fiala and Blues defenceman Robert Bortuzzo collided, forcing Fiala to slide leg first into the boards. His left leg twisted and he lay motionless on the ice, before eventually getting stretchered off.
The injury caused a delay in the game. While an ambulance took Fiala to a nearby hospital, everyone else had to wait for another to arrive at Scottrade Center before the game could resume.
Fiala, 20, was a first-round pick of the Predators in 2014 and just completed his first season with Nashville. He had two goals in Round 1, including the overtime winner in Game 3 of the series.
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Adam Larsson to the rescue
So, how about that Taylor Hall trade? OK, we won’t get that never-ending debate going again. But what’s irrefutable is Adam Larsson, the return for Hall from New Jersey last June, scored more goals Wednesday than Hall did in his playoff career with Edmonton. (Yes, of course, Hall never got his chance.)
Anyway, not only did Larsson score twice – a first ever for him – his goals were kind of important ones.
His first marker, off the rush courtesy of a Leon Draisaitl pass, put the Oilers up 3-1. They coughed up the two-goal advantage. But all that did was allow Larsson to score again, this time by darting in on a rush and banking a shot off Ducks goaltender John Gibson.
The winning goal was Larsson’s second on the night, something no Oilers rearguard had accomplished in the post-season in a long, long time.
Oh yeah; Larsson had an assist, too. Not a bad night’s work.
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Nikita Kucherov criticizes Lightning teammates
The Tampa Bay Lightning were expected to be contending for a Stanley Cup this season, but instead they’re watching from home. One player who isn’t happy about that is Nikita Kucherov and he voiced his displeasure in an interview with Sovietsky Sport as well as in some follow-up reporting done by Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
The main point Kucherov was making seemed to be that some of his teammates weren’t living up to their contracts. “They’ve got their money and stopped working,” he said. “You can see it in their stats and way of play. When we played together and I made a pass, they even were not expecting this. That’s why this season was hard for me despite good stats.”
Kucherov is currently preparing to represent Russia in the upcoming world championship. Smith spoke with Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, who said after the tournament he would talk to his star forward.
Despite missing the playoffs, the Lightning still have one of the more exciting young rosters in the NHL and they will certainly be a contender to return to the post-season next year. But how these comments affect the team’s off-season plans remains to be seen.
