Subban's Slash Breaks Stone's Bone

OK, so maybe referee Dave Jackson has X-Ray eyes.

For a moment, it looked like he saw something other officials and a shipload of replay camera angles didn't.

There was zero doubt about Montréal Canadiens defenseman Darth Vader PK Subban going with the overhand chop technique on the Ottawa Senators' Mark Stone in the Stanley Cup first-round opener that had already gone beyond chippy:

Perhaps the telltale moment for Jackson was Stone's quick exit after the slash. Players just don't do that in the playoffs, especially in one as heated as this pairing.

The announcers were incredulous, as was Subban when he saw that Stone had returned to the ice shortly thereafter:

Pardon his French, but that wasn't French.

However, this is why Jackson's a hell of a ref. His instincts were correct:

So, the Sens have lost a 26-goal, 64-point producer in a fierce series where every bit of sniping will be sorely needed.

It speaks to Stone's tenacity that he tried to return, and while it got a rise outa Subban and the Habs, it looks like it was simply another example of a hockey player's adrenalin-rushed attempt to keep going, because it's the Cup.

Incidentally, Montréal won.