Subban will play the villain, if you really want him to

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This article was published 26/04/2018 (2715 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NASHVILLE — He hears your boos, Winnipeg. Even if P.K. Subban doesn’t completely understand them.

Subban figures to be a central figure in the series between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators, as the dynamic defenceman and Norris Trophy candidate has the ability to single-handedly turn a game on its ear.

He’s also likely to find himself in the middle of plenty of after-the-whistle mayhem, if history is any indication. Just look back at the five games Winnipeg and Nashville played this season, where Subban seemed almost obsessed with getting Jets star Mark Scheifele to drop the gloves with him.

Throw in the added playoff intensity and a rabid fan base that will likely jeer his every stride, and you have the makings of a classic sports villain.

So, does he embrace that role?

“I could probably answer the question if I knew why I’d be labelled as a villain. I don’t know what I’ve done particularly wrong. I don’t really focus on that. It’s a lot of noise,” Subban said Wednesday following the Predators’ practice. “I did a documentary a few years back, it was called Skate Past the Noise. There’s a lot of noise going on, whether it’s from the crowd, from a player, in the media. I just choose not to listen to a lot of it. That’s seemed to help me throughout my career.”

It’s always been a fascinating juxtaposition with Subban, who is one of hockey’s great characters and ambassadors and a true philanthropist who donated $10 million to Montreal’s Children’s Hospital, among other endeavours. But on the ice, he seems to often get under opponents’ skin and draw the ire of rival fan bases.

“I’ve played a lot of playoff hockey in some really fun buildings to play in. It’ll be another fun building to play in. I’m just going to do my thing,” Subban said of what he expects when the series shifts to Bell MTS Place for Games 3 and 4.

“There’s a lot of players that get booed. I’m sure you guys can figure out a solid story of why that happens. I don’t need to figure that out. The only thing I need to look at is the scoreboard when I leave the ice, and know if I’ve helped that or if I didn’t do my job,” Subban said.

“We know the story about athletes and what happens when they go to other teams’ barns and arenas. That’s just the way sports is. That’s the best part of sports, is the energy around it. I just choose to embrace all the energy and feed off it. Just like everybody else is. That’s what you’re going to remember when you finish playing, is how much fun you had. Playing in Canada is always great.”

What makes the Predators a formidable foe is that Subban is just part of a “Fab Four” on a blue line that includes Roman Josi, who feasted on Winnipeg this season with one goal, eight assists and 16 shots in five games. Many observers believe Josi is the best defenceman in Nashville.

“He’s definitely one of those guys, if he’s on another team he’s a candidate for the Norris every single year,” said defenceman Ryan Ellis, who along with Mattias Ekholm round out that strong back-end core for the Predators.

Josi, 27, is in his seventh season in Nashville, and has put up 292 points in 481 regular-season games. His biggest offensive outburst came earlier this season, when he had five assists in a 6-5 victory over Winnipeg.

“Both teams play a pretty responsible game defensively. But, for some reason, every time we play this season it’s kind of back and forth. Both teams have a lot of depth and have the ability of coming back if down a couple goals. That’s a main reason it’s such high-scoring games,” Josi said Wednesday when asked why he’s enjoyed so much personal success against Winnipeg.

“They’re always intense games. And I think we’ve played them a lot every year, and it starts a bit of a rivalry. They’re always fun games, physical, intense. There were some really good games this year.”

That trend is likely to continue with the stakes even higher now.

Subban posted 59 points (16 goals, 43 assists) this season, which was one off his career high. He said Wednesday the Predators defence will have a big say in whether the team moves on to the Western Conference final for a second straight year.

“We’ve been able to generate all year. We’ve done a good job of moving the puck out of our zone and having good gaps on the rush, which has created turnovers. That’s the key for our defence… whenever we’re using our skating and checking ability, that turns into offence for us,” Subban said.

“We want to play solid defensively, get up the ice and be fourth- and fifth-man attacker on the ice, but also just generating shot opportunities. It’s not just off the rush, but in the zone, whether it’s off faceoffs or cycles or whatever it is. That’s the game, now. That’s what all teams want to do. We just happen to have a special group that can do it maybe a bit more often.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg