With eighteen seconds to go in the third period of Saturday night's game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators, the reigning Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban was assessed a minor penalty for hooking Senators forward Erik Condra.
Subban's stick only made superficial contact with Condra on the play, and Price controlled the puck shortly thereafter. While it was a relatively meager offense, the penalty proved costly when Senators winger Clarke McArthur capitalized on the power-play in overtime to win the game for Ottawa.
A clearly frustrated Subban criticized the call at length after the game, and wondered if perhaps the call was motivated by something "personal."
"I think I've always been pretty positive with my reaction to (refereeing) and respecting the game and respecting the decision that are made," Subban told reporters. "There aren't too many times after the game where I catch myself laughing after we lose because with :18 seconds left... I don't, I mean, I'd like to get an explanation of what I did wrong there. I thought Carey had the puck there, I thought the play was over."
Continued the oftentimes dominant Canadiens defender: "Other than that it seems like it's personal to me, y'know, it has nothing to do with the game. Based on the standard of penalties, I don't see a penalty there. If it doesn't make sense on the ice, if it doesn't make sense as a penalty, then what else is it?"
You can watch Subban's comments at length in the video below:
