P.K. Subban's 1st-star effort inspired by the late Jean Béliveau

Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban says he doesn't like looking up into the stands at the Bell Centre during a game. He says there are too many distractions.

But he knew that Jean Béliveau's widow, Élise, was wearing his No. 76 jersey during the Habs' 3-2 overtime victory over the Senators Friday night.

"Jean Béliveau is one of my heroes and every time I see her in the stands wearing my jersey, it's flattering and I think we all feed off of seeing Mrs. Béliveau in the stands," Subban says.

Béliveau's No. 4 has been painted on the ice at the Bell Centre since he died last December. His jersey is stitched into his regular seat behind the Canadiens' bench, where he watched the team play in the years after his retirement, and his wife Élise still rarely misses a home game.

The number, the jersey and Élise are all reminders for the current Habs players of the ethical standard Jean Béliveau set for the Montreal Canadiens franchise during his life.

Subban says he's thought about that standard a lot over the last few days. He was tossed out of game on Wednesday night for slashing Ottawa's Mark Stone in the second period. Subban says Mr. Béliveau would not have approved.

But Subban's performance Friday night was another story.

He was instrumental in the Habs' overtime victory, and in the second period he scored a stunning goal when he hammered a shot at 139.8 km/h past Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond. He was named the first star of the game.

It doesn't erase what happened in Game 1, but it did help Montreal go up 2-0 in the first-round series over Ottawa, and that is likely something Mr. Béliveau would approve.