"For sure it was emotional for him. He played really hard for us here," acknowledged goaltender Carey Price, who spent seven seasons alongside Subban in Montreal. "This was his home, and no doubt he was a fan favorite. I'm just happy that the fans received him like that."
But that was all Subban and the Preds would get.
A scoreless middle 20 would set up the type of close third the Habs have been thriving in lately, except this time the regulation 60 was all that was required.
Albeit nearly every last second of it.
"It was a little close there, it almost went to another overtime," cracked Paul Byron, who scored the game-winner with 0:08 left on the board to bring the fans to their feet for good, and end a string of three consecutive overtime decisions. "At this time of year, every point is hard to get. Every game is a playoff-type game, and no one wants to give up even a little. You've just got to stay with the program, keep digging, and go to the net to hopefully get a good break. [Brendan Gallagher] did a great job of getting us going there in the third period -- he really gave our team some momentum -- and as always Carey was unbelievable."