P.K. Subban injury

During Game 4 of a second-round matchup with the St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban was given a penalty for embellishment after getting hit in the head by Joel Edmundson. Few could see what the officials saw on the play, but apparently, somebody in the NHL’s offices agreed with the refs in the game.

Subban was fined $2,000 by the NHL on Wednesday because this was his second offense as far as the league is concerned. Subban was given a warning about embellishing a play in January following an incident in a game against the Minnesota Wild.

Let’s go back to the film and take another look at the play in question and see if our views have changed at all:

If the league thinks Subban has a knack for embellishing the moment to his advantage, then you can probably understand why the league would view this with a bit more skepticism compared to a player without a strike against him. But here? Embellishment still seems to be a reach. In this case, Subban loses the benefit of the doubt because of his history.

In 2015, Subban became the first player in league history to have three strikes marked against him for embellishment when he was playing for Montreal. The league fined Subban $3,000 as a result, which followed a previous $2,000 fine for his second offense. Like the best floppers in soccer and basketball, Subban’s track record makes it difficult for some officials to evaluate what happens on the ice as neutral as we would prefer to see.

Regardless of the end result and fines, Subban and the Predators are in the Western Conference Finals. Whether he was embellishing or not, Subban remains a key reason why the Predators are where they are right now.

[Associated Press]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.