BROSSARD, Quebec -- P.K. Subban and the Montreal Canadiens believe the penalties he received Wednesday for his controversial slash on Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone were punishment enough, if not too much.
Subban was assessed a game misconduct in addition to a five-minute major penalty for slashing Stone on the right wrist at 8:23 of the second period of Montreal's 4-3 win against Ottawa in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round series at Bell Centre.
Stone went to the dressing room after the slash but returned to the ice before the five-minute penalty expired. He left again after playing his first shift of the third, but returned later in the period and was on the ice when a skirmish broke out between the teams at the end of the game.
Subban was not available for comment after the game.
"Obviously it's frustrating when you get kicked out of the game, but if I was to make a comment on the officiating, the ref made the right call," Subban said after Montreal practiced at its suburban training facility Thursday. "When you see a player down on the ice rolling around like that, there's one call to be made and he made the right call. If I was in that position, I'd probably do the same.
"But it is frustrating when you see a player finish the game and was involved throughout the game and even at the end there in the scrum. It's tough. But listen, I paid the price for taking that penalty, and that's what happens. The right decisions were made on the ice. Obviously I don't want to be out for five minutes and I don't want to be out of the game, but when a player's hurt like that on the ice, that's what happens."
Thursday, the Senators said Stone sustained a microfracture and ligament damage to his right wrist, and his availability for the remainder of the series is unknown.
Canadiens coach Michel Therrien stood by his statement following Game 1, that he believed the major penalty call was too harsh.
"What I had to say [Wednesday] night, it's like I thought, I didn't change my mind," Therrien said. "P.K. got a penalty. From our standpoint I don't think he deserved a major, but you know what? We're moving on. We're concentrating on [Friday]. That's only our focus."
Game 2 of the series is Friday back at Bell Centre (7 p.m. ET; CNBC, CBC, TVA Sports).