Speculation: Subban played injured against NYR

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Ok I know this will come out as a controversial thread, but I have to do it.

Against NewYork, one of the best d-man in the world:
-Couldn't skate with mobility
-Was skating as less as possible
-Was targeted in the legs
-Kept the puck for short amounts of time
-Played a stay-at-home type of game

To me, he was in pain every time his left foot touched the ice when skating, which he tried to avoid as much as possible. His new 'style' was made to reduce his movement, not to be efficient.
The guy takes a lot of crap when playing, and we can argue he isn't made of steel.

Blocked shots, slashings, TOI... an injury had to happen.
But, he played despite the pain. So another reason the admire him, he's inspiring.

My proof? Watch some games for a 2nd time and focus on his left foot.

It's was obvious to me since the first games of the series we just lost, Subban's left foot couldn't do it anymore.

Injuries killed us once again.

Click to read more...

 

[Aceekay]

Nope, wasn't injured. Injuries didn't kill us, we weren't as good as the rangers it's that simple.

Stop with the excuses.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Obvious imo.

Same with Pleks he was slow out there.

 

[InglewoodJack]

The ice at MSG was terrible for everyone

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Nope, wasn't injured. Injuries didn't kill us , we weren't as good as the rangers it's that simple.

Stop with the excuses.

That's what the team want you to believe, and I agree with that. They kept the whole thing really quiet simply because they're is no reason to scream it, especially when the series ain't even over.
Price missing, Subban's skating missing, our 2 best players... injuries killed us.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

Misleading title.

Everybody picks up an injury or two in the playoffs.

Subban is good, but certainly not the best in the world.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Obvious imo.

Same with Pleks he was slow out there.

Didn't noticed with Pleks but I guess it would make sense. Our best players and the team just can't afford to leave them off the roster during the playoffs when something's wrong with their body.

The ice at MSG was terrible for everyone

The ice at the Bell Centre was great, but he didn't skate much more.

 

[Camio]

Ok I know this will come out as a controversial thread, but I have to do it.

Against NewYork, The best d-man in the world:
-Couldn't skate with mobility
-Was skating as less as possible
-Was targeted in the legs
-Kept the puck for short amounts of time
-Played a stay-at-home type of game

To me, he was in pain every time his left foot touched the ice when skating, which he tried to avoid as much as possible. His new 'style' was made to reduce his movement, not to be efficient.
The guy takes a lot of crap when playing, and we can argue he isn't made of steel.

Blocked shots, slashings, TOI... an injury had to happen.
But, he played despite the pain. So another reason the admire him, he's inspiring.

My proof? Watch some games for a 2nd time and focus on his left foot.

It's was obvious to me since the first games of the series we just lost, Subban's left foot couldn't do it anymore.

Injuries killed us once again.

You're reaching. There's at least 3 canadians Dmen better than him.

Rangers controlled much of the series anyway. Price could've stole the series like he did vs Boston, thats about it.

Habs are a fast team and use that to their advantage vs most team. Rangers were faster than the Habs and the Habs werent able to adjust.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

You're reaching. There's at least 3 canadians Dmen better than him.

Rangers controlled much of the series anyway. Price could've stole the series like he did vs Boston, thats about it.

Habs are a fast team and use that to their advantage vs most team. Rangers were faster than the Habs and the Habs werent able to adjust.

I'm not taking anything from New York, this is not the official 'excuses thread'. They were the better team.

Now, look at the LA v. CHI series. Says LA lose Quick, and Doughty plays +26 mins per game on one leg, do you think the result is the same as of today? Nobody knows. But one thing's for sure, the whole series is different.

Habs ain't powerful like Los Angeles, we lost our 2 best players, who takes the lead?

 

[Camio]

I'm not taking anything from New York, this is not the official 'excuses thread'. They were the better team.

Now, look at the LA v. CHI series. Says LA lose Quick, and Doughty plays +26 mins per game on one leg, do you think the result is the same as of today? Nobody knows. But one thing's for sure, the whole series is different.

You're assuming PK's play vs the Goons is the norm, thats your mistake.

He wasnt injured vs the Rangers, he just got back down to Earth, his normal play if you will. Players rarely stay in a zone non-stop. Some players are able to get in that zone as they want it seems, PK isnt in that class, sorry for you.

Habs ain't powerful like Los Angeles, we couldn't afford to lose our 2 studs.

Aight, getting out of this thread now. This is a laughable statement at best.

 

[Ezpz]

Why shouldn't he? I fully agree with what he said. Should I not post here too?

If you posted a similar opinion about a Bruins player on the Bruins board you would be *'d in a matter of seconds.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

You're assuming PK's play vs the Goons is the norm, thats your mistake.

He wasnt injured vs the Rangers, he just got back down to Earth, his normal play if you will. Players rarely stay in a zone non-stop. Some players are able to get in that zone as they want it seems, PK isnt in that class, sorry for you.

I'm a 100% neutral Habs fan, I'm far from being a PK fanboy. Thing is, he didn't even try. That's not PK. He got back down to Earth, yes, it happens when you're not able to do what you did before. What caused that, though?

At this point, I'm not forcing you to agree with this worthless speculation, but the reasons are here for me to believe what I stated in the OP. Read between the lines, what some games and focus on his left foot if you want.

 

[Habsfannick]

PK isn't the best Dman in the world but he's a player like no one else, he plays in a way no other player can with a sort of unique swagger to how he does everything. He rarely had that swagger this round so either he was injured or losing his best friend in the first game really took him out of it.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Aight, getting out of this thread now. This is a laughable statement at best.

Quoting you:

You're assuming PK's play vs the Goons is the norm, thats your mistake.

Why do you say that?

 

[Alexander Edler*]

If you posted a similar opinion about a Bruins player on the Bruins board you would be *'d in a matter of seconds.

Who cares what the Bruins board would do? All he said was that PK wasn't the best in the world, not that he was absolute trash. I think that's pretty fair, don't you?

 

[Analyzer*]

Injuries tend to affect every team.

 

[Wats]

Might be injured but I think what impacted him more is averaging ~30min/game for a 5 game span. He has no practice in the regular season as they were busy trying to contain him.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

PK isn't the best Dman in the world but he's a player like no one else, he plays in a way no other player can with a sort of unique swagger to how he does everything. He rarely had that swagger this round so either he was injured or losing his best friend in the first game really took him out of it.

His swagger comes from his skating when he does great things with the puck like no-one else can do, something he didn't do at all in the 3rd round. I think I've got your answer.

Injuries tend to affect every team.

I know. Source: Habs fan.

In all seriousness, it affects some team more than others, but the context has a big word to say in all cases. In ours, worse case senario.

 

[Lebowski]

Might be injured but I think what impacted him more is averaging ~30min/game for a 5 game span. He has no practice in the regular season.

More or less this. I hold the firm belief that PK bulked up too much last summer, which affected his speed and endurance. He wasn't quite "as fast" as he once was all season long, including the 1st and 2nd round.

And playing 30 minutes a night as a puck rusher would drain anyone in no time. He doesn't play a laid back style like Suter or Pietrangelo.

Injured or not, he was our MVP during those playoffs. Let's not get our Sens' fan hypersensitiveness excuse mode going please.

 

[Mike8]

More or less this. I hold the firm belief that PK bulked up too much last summer, which affected his speed and endurance. He wasn't quite "as fast" as he once was all season long, including the 1st and 2nd round.

And playing 30 minutes a night as a puck rusher would drain anyone in no time. He doesn't play a laid back style like Suter or Pietrangelo.

Injured or not, he was our MVP during those playoffs. Let's not get our Sens' fan hypersensitiveness excuse mode going please.

I've held the same line of thinking, that he may have added too much bulk to be nimble as he once was. That said, he's now very capable physically down low, and that's been invaluable. So, it's a trade off, and one that's probably been worth it.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Might be injured but I think what impacted him more is averaging ~30min/game for a 5 game span. He has no practice in the regular season as they were busy trying to contain him.

I have a theory on this.

Like I said in the original post, he found a new style for the 3rd round, a one in which he moves as less as possible. Subban can now handle more minutes, since he kept his energy by doing less on the ice. He played through pain, bye bye to his efficiency. His upper body isn't affected, all Subban had to do was to protect Tokarski like a shut-down d-man.

 

[Lebowski]

I've held the same line of thinking, that he may have added too much bulk to be nimble as he once was. That said, he's now very capable physically down low, and that's been invaluable. So, it's a trade off, and one that's probably been worth it.

I've looked at the situation from a trade-off perspective as well, but I'm not too sure it was worth it to be honest. He was already strong like a bull as a rookie and excelled at puck protection despite his younger age. I'd rather have him back around 205 or 210 pounds. Speed is a big part of being able to gain the opponent's zone as a PMD.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

I've looked at the situation from a trade-off perspective as well, but I'm not too sure it was worth it to be honest. He was already strong like a bull as a rookie and excelled at puck protection despite his younger age. I'd rather have him back around 205 or 210 pounds. Speed is a big part of being able to gain the opponent's zone as a PMD.

I think one of the reasons why PK has been so consistant in his career is because of how much stronger he is than most of his opposition. Otherwise, he would've been a perfect target for lots of teams, obviously leading him to miss some games.

 

[Mike8]

I've looked at the situation from a trade-off perspective as well, but I'm not too sure it was worth it to be honest. He was already strong like a bull as a rookie and excelled at puck protection despite his younger age. I'd rather have him back around 205 or 210 pounds. Speed is a big part of being able to gain the opponent's zone as a PMD.

He's like Plekanec in that he can skate at his top speed with the puck. And when he winds up, he gets going well enough offensively, since his style is to slow the play down then rush up ice -- thus catching his opponents flat footed. Speed isn't the large component there; it's puck control and pacing the play.

His strength down low is miles beyond what it used to be, though. He can now contain virtually any forward down low. His battles with Lucic were toe to toe, for example. Lucic wasn't getting through him to the net. That physicality serves two purposes: one, the obvious, is to aid him in defensive coverage; second, to help him absorb punishment better.

 

[Lebowski]

He's like Plekanec in that he can skate at his top speed with the puck. And when he winds up, he gets going well enough offensively, since his style is to slow the play down then rush up ice -- thus catching his opponents flat footed. Speed isn't the large component there; it's puck control and pacing the play.

His strength down low is miles beyond what it used to be, though. He can now contain virtually any forward down low. His battles with Lucic were toe to toe, for example. Lucic wasn't getting through him to the net. That physicality serves two purposes: one, the obvious, is to aid him in defensive coverage; second, to help him absorb punishment better.

Again, I think the possible gain in strength he made are overstated. He's the guy that physically contained Crosby, quite possibly the best puck possession player in the league and one of the best ever at that, and Ovechkin at the peak of his abilities, as a 200 pounds rookie. Not only could he keep up speed wise, but he had the brute force to dominate them as well.

Sure, he can probably physically dominate people even better now, but from my perspective, what he lost in speed and endurance is too much for it to be worth it.

Then again, that's only the two of us spitballing theories and what ifs into the air. Maybe his weight gain had nothing to do with it at all, but to me it remains the most plausible cause.