Coming off a dramatic win Tuesday night, the Nashville Predators seek their first five-game winning streak of the season tonight with P.K. Subban’s first return to Montreal since he was traded to Nashville for Shea Weber on June 29, 2016.
ESPN 102.5 The Game’s Willy Daunic caught up with Subban ahead of his much-anticipated return to Montreal.
“This was home for me, for around 10 years or more. You gotta respect this franchise, respect the people that are in it and respect the city and its community and its history of hockey in Montreal. The people here understand that I appreciate that more than a lot of people and just to come back here and see all the familiar faces and pay the respect to the people that I really never got to see before I got traded. I’m just happy to be here,” Subban told Daunic.
The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 3, 2017, when the Canadiens won 2-1 in overtime. Subban did not play, due to injury. Since his return to action on Jan. 20, 2017, Subban has scored one goal, added 12 assists and helped the Preds push into third place in the hotly contested Central Division.
“Everyone is starting to feel comfortable, we know that the push to the playoffs is here now and we got 20 games or less to continue to just gel and get better and like I said our goal is to be in the playoffs,” he said.
“It was a process for me, obviously it’s tough when you come into a new team and you’re injured, trying to acclimate yourself into the team and find your niche and who you are. It made it a little bit tougher for me when I got injured, but I think now I’m starting to find my stride.”
The Canadiens are scheduled to honor Subban in a pregame ceremony tonight at Bell Centre in Montreal.
“It’s going to be rocking, it’s always rocking in this barn but obviously [tonight] there might be a little bit more emotion but it’ll be exciting,” he said.
For more, listen to the whole interview here:
