Malcolm Subban staying sharp for when Golden Knights need him in goal

By Justin Emerson

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 | 2 a.m.

The least exciting job in sports, one could argue, is the backup quarterback for the New England Patriots. You come to work every day knowing you’re not going to start, but doing everything you can to absorb information and advice from an all-time great.

Such is life for Golden Knights backup goalie Malcolm Subban.

“It’s easy to get lazy in your habits in practice and workouts and stuff, just slack off because you’re not going to play for another month,” Subban said. “That’s the toughest part, but you’re watching a future Hall of Famer, so it could be worse.”

Subban’s situation isn’t as dire as the one posed to Tom Brady’s backup — Brian Hoyer, who completed one pass for seven yards last season — but it’s still a tedious job.

Subban started just seven times in Vegas’ 59 games through Feb. 14, although he was on injured reserve for part of that stretch. But even then, Maxime Lagace, the backup’s backup, started just once.

It’s not an indictment on Subban so much as an endorsement of Marc-Andre Fleury, who on Sunday recorded his league-leading eighth shutout. The Vegas starting netminder is ninth all-time in NHL wins, has three Stanley Cup rings and was the Golden Knights’ All-Star this season.

“He’s a good kid, so easy to get along with,” Fleury said. “He’s very encouraging when I play also, and when he goes in I try to do my best to keep him upbeat and low stress. Just go out there and play.

“He practices hard, he works hard, and you never hear him complain about his ice time or anything like that. He’s been very good for me and for the team.”

If there’s any light for Subban at the end of the tunnel, it’s that he’s starting to play more, and may see more action down the home stretch of the season as well. He has three starts since mid-February, including three of six games from Feb. 16-28. He played well in a defeat of Nashville and a loss to Colorado, and although he allowed five goals against Florida, he locked down the win with a perfect shootout.

The Golden Knights have three more sets of back-to-back games this year, including this weekend against Vancouver and Calgary. His start against Florida was the front end of a back-to-back, after which coach Gerard Gallant mentioned he may split the remaining three instances among his two goalies.

“I don’t know how many games he’s going to play, but we’ll see where it goes and go from there,” Gallant said. “He’s played really good hockey for us.”

Eighteen of the 31 goals Subban has allowed his year came in his first four starts of the year, and since then has a 2.15 goals-against average and .937 save percentage. As the Golden Knights head toward the postseason and try to keep their star goalie rested, Subban will be just as important as anyone on the roster.

And he’ll be ready.