Two consecutive losses haven’t shaken P.K. Subban’s confidence.
The Nashville Predators defenseman guaranteed victory in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final after the Pittsburgh Penguins won Game 2 4-1 on Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena to take a 2-0 series lead.
“We’re not looking at anybody. We’re looking at ourselves,” Subban told reporters, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “And right away the focus shifts. We don’t lose in our building. We’re going back home, we’re going to win the next game, and then we’ll see what happens from there.”
Subban’s comments came after an eventful third period that featured three Penguins goals in the opening four minutes. Later in the frame, Subban dropped the gloves with Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin, though neither player connected with any punches.
“It’s a bad fight,” Malkin told reporters. “We hold each other for a minute. I don’t want to fight with Subban. He approached me after the whistle, and I’m upset and I come to him and Subban comes to me. It’s fine, I forgive him.”
Nashville dropped Game 1 on Monday 5-3 despite holding Pittsburgh without a shot on goal for 37 consecutive minutes. Another brief lapse doomed the Predators in that contest, as the Penguins scored three times in a five-minute span during the first period before potting the game-winner late in the third.
The good news for Predators fans: Nashville has lost just once on home ice this postseason, going 7-1 at Bridgestone Arena against the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
