Adam Vingan

avingan@tennessean.com

P.K. Subban circled the offensive zone, the Predators defenseman playing what amounted to a one-man game of keep away as the Senators scrambled to stop him.

Using his elite skating stride to evade Ottawa defenders, Subban swiftly changed direction multiple times, eventually pivoting into position to send a rink-wide pass to Predators defenseman Roman Josi, who then set up forward James Neal's second-period goal in last week's 3-1 victory.

It was a 15-second puck-handling clinic by Subban, the kind of eye-popping display that persuaded the Predators to acquire him during the offseason. Having reached the one-month mark of his first regular season in Nashville, the 27-year-old is growing comfortable within his new team's game plan.

"When you're not thinking, you're just playing," Subban said. "I think that from the start of the season I was doing a lot of thinking, just trying to learn systems and build chemistry with my teammates. Every game that goes by, we build more and more chemistry. Every practice that we have, we learn more about each other. It feels as if it's starting to turn.

"I'm still trying to learn how to bring my attributes that I was traded for, to implement that into our system and work within our system to give us the best advantage."

Three of Subban's eight points this season have come at even strength, where his inconsistency mirrored the team's through its first several games.

Among Subban's biggest assets is his ability to drive possession and tilt the ice in his team's favor with his playmaking ability. He has a shot-attempt percentage of about 49 percent through 14 games, meaning that the opposition has slightly controlled play when Subban is on the ice in terms of putting pucks on or toward the net.

The Predators, however, are enjoying a sizable advantage in scoring chances during Subban's shifts (44-25), which they value most in evaluating performance.

Overall, Subban is beginning to make a more noticeable impact after a relatively quiet start.

"When the system slows down for you and you know what to do, you're going to see openings within it and times where you can maybe join the rush one more extra time or jump a little earlier," said Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who has been Subban's primary partner this season. "I can imagine coming to a new team and learning a new system, it takes a while. ... We're still trying to learn each other's game and tendencies, but I think it's coming along."

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There's also been an adjustment in Subban's role. Before the trade, he was the Canadiens' conductor, responsible for engineering their attack. In Nashville, he's one of several smooth-skating defensemen who can do that.

"The way the team has been built, there's a lot of skilled guys here," Subban said. "The styles are different. In terms of in Montreal, it was like I had to defend, but I was expected to drive offense. If I wasn't scoring goals, it's like, 'Why aren't you scoring?' Here, it's a little different. It's about producing offense. ... It's not about who scores the goal, but it's about generating offense and influencing it."

As expected, Subban's transition hasn't been instantaneous, but he appears to be a match with the Predators' uptempo style.

"I still want to be patient, because it's a process," Subban said. "It just doesn't happen in the first 10 games. It might take a full season. It might take 40 games. I don't know. But I'm just happy to see that every game that goes by, it feels like we're gaining ground and getting better and better. That's the important thing."

Reach Adam Vingan on Twitter @AdamVingan.

P.K. SUBBAN'S STATISTICS

Goals: 3 (T-4th on Predators)

Assists: 5 (T-5th)

Points: 8 (T-4th)

Shots: 31 (4th)

Shot-attempt differential: minus-14 (11th, min. 10 games)

Time on ice: 24:28 (2nd)

NEXT GAME

PREDATORS at MAPLE LEAFS

When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

TV/radio: Fox TN/102.5-FM