Malcolm Subban makes P.K. proud in Golden Knights win against Predators

NASHVILLE -- Karl Subban stood on the Nashville Predators' bench in a Vegas Golden Knights jersey during warmups at Bridgestone Arena on Friday, but had no mixed emotions.

His sons P.K. and Malcolm were about to play an organized hockey game against each other for the first time -- P.K. as a defenseman for the Predators, Malcolm as a goaltender for the Golden Knights. But P.K. was 28, a star in the NHL; Malcolm was 23, establishing himself; and it was the Golden Knights' fathers trip.
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"I think we all see it as Malcolm's moment, and we don't even want P.K. to ruin it for him," Karl said with a smile. "Please, P.K. and the Preds. Don't ruin it for Malcolm tonight and his teammates."
P.K. and the Preds didn't, though they tried. After the Subbans had a picture taken on the ice, and P.K. snapped a selfie, the Predators rallied from trailing 2-0 and took a 3-2 lead. The fans taunted, "Suuuu-ban! Suuuu-ban! Suuuu-ban! You (stink)! It's all your fault! It's all your fault! It's all your fault!" Maybe they should have specified it was Malcolm.

But Erik Haula tied it 3-3 with 40 seconds left. At one point in overtime, P.K. and Malcolm made eye contact before a face-off in the Vegas zone, sizing each other up, anticipating a one-timer that never came.
"That was pretty funny," Malcolm said.
The game went to a shootout. As player after player failed to score, Malcolm started to wonder if P.K. would come out and it would be Subban vs. Subban, one-on-one, like in the old days on the backyard rink in Toronto. He didn't.
After Reilly Smith scored the lone goal in six rounds, the Golden Knights had a 4-3 win, and little brother had 41 saves, including one on P.K., and bragging rights.

"It was awesome," P.K. said. "Obviously I don't like to see him play that well against us, but you know, he played well, and I'm happy for him. It's been a rocky road to get to where he is now, but he's a pro now. You can see that. As a family, today's a big day."
Can you imagine how big?
Karl and Maria Subban had five children -- two daughters, three sons. The sons spent a lot of nights on that backyard rink, a lot of hours playing ministicks in the hallway.
"Sometimes it would get very loud, and sometimes it got a little bit emotional," Karl said. "And it was just preparing them for this, I guess."

P.K. had no mercy on little brothers Malcolm and Jordan; Malcolm and Jordan wanted nothing more than to beat their big brother.
"He's a guy that doesn't like to lose, and if he does, he finds a way to make you feel like you lost even though you won," Malcolm said.
Karl coached Malcolm in organized hockey and used him as a skater because he was the best on the team. But Malcolm really wanted to be a goaltender.
"I'd always play goalie in the hallway," Malcolm said. "I remember P.K. shooting on me, telling my dad, 'Hey, he's pretty good. He should play [goalie].' My dad's like, 'No way. Not a chance he's playing goalie.' "

Finally, Malcolm took a stand.
"At 12 years old, he said, 'You know, Daddy, I'm going to quit if I can't be a goalie,' " Karl said. "And that's when we sort of got out of his way, or I did, anyway."

The Montreal Canadiens took P.K. in the second round (No. 43) of the 2007 NHL Draft, and he went on to win the Norris Trophy in 2013 with them and make the Stanley Cup Final with the Predators last season.
The Boston Bruins took Malcolm in the first round (No. 24) of the 2012 NHL Draft, and the Vancouver Canucks took Jordan in the fourth round (No. 115) of the 2013 NHL Draft. The Bruins waived Malcolm on Oct. 2, and the Golden Knights claimed him the next day. The Canucks traded Jordan to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
The Golden Knights liked Malcolm enough to trade backup Calvin Pickard to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Malcolm is 7-2-0 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .924 save percentage this season, including 1-0 against P.K.
"I'm just happy for him," P.K. said. "He's carved his own path. He's a great hockey player and he works really, really hard. I think that's what I'm proud about, just watching how hard he's worked to get to where he is now."

This time, P.K. didn't make Malcolm feel like he had lost even though he had won. After the game Friday, they posed for another picture and embraced outside the Nashville locker room. P.K. wished him luck.
"When our children are living their dream, our parents are happiest," Karl said. "And so for Malcolm tonight and for the start of the season, he's made his parents very happy, because he's doing what he wants to do."