Malcolm Subban has rough debut in Bruins' blowout loss to Blues

It was a rough NHL debut for Malcolm Subban on Friday after being yanked off and on the ice against the St. Louis Blues.

It was a rough NHL debut for Malcolm Subban on Friday, as he was yanked off the ice against the St. Louis Blues. 

The Boston Bruins rookie goaltender was benched after allowing three goals in his first start​. With the game out of reach late, Subban was put back on the ice, but his being back between the pipes in the final six minutes of the game did little for the floundering Bruins, who lost 5-1.  

Subban was pulled 5:09 into the second period after allowing a slap shot by Blues center T.J. Oshie. He allowed three glove-side goals on three straight shots in just over four minutes in the second period, including the first NHL goal for defenseman PetteriLindbohm. 

Subban only faced six shots in his 30 minutes in goal, ending the night with a measly save percentage of .500. 

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TuukkaRask was clearly annoyed at having to replace Subban, flipping his folding chair after the Oshie goal. It was supposed to be his night off after appearing in 25 of the Bruins' last 26 games since Dec. 19, according to Joe Haggerty of CSN.

Being the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens captain P.K.Subban, Malcolm received much hype in making his first start. The 21-year-old 2012 draft pick had been playing for the Providence Bruins of the AHL before being called up to Boston on Feb. 16. 

Despite the Bruins' less-than-spectacular performance, Subban had a good attitude going into the game. He told Steve Conroy of the Boston Heraldhow he had no reason to be nervous going into his first game.

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“As a kid, you want to be in the NHL and you want to be in the NHL as quick as possible," Subban said. "I’ve tried to focus on myself and what I have to work on to get here as quickly as possible. … I feel like I'm more confident in myself and it helps me when I'm relaxed. I feel like I'm at my best when I'm relaxed.” 

Friday night wasn’t all bad news for rookie goalies, however. In his first start for the New York Rangers, Mackenzie Skapski won his first NHL game, as New York beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1. Skapski gave up the only Buffalo goal 14 seconds into the game, recovering to end the night with 24 saves.

- Anna Gallegos

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