Montreal Canadiens: The Montoya-Lindgren Tandem
The Montreal Canadiens will have Al Montoya and Charlie Lindgren as a tandem while Carey Price recovers from his injury. How long can they hold the fort?
Have you ever heard the saying, “Be careful what you wish for”? As the goals were piling up against in the last Montreal Canadiens game, fans were taking to social media voicing their frustration towards Carey Price. Some of it was warranted while most of it was a little over the top. A recurring take was that the Habs should trade Price and call up Charlie Lindgren.
As the saying goes, you got your wish. With Price sitting out of Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, Al Montoya is getting the start and it looks like Lindgren will be backing him up.
Let’s play the imagine game for a bit. How well can a Montoya-Lindgren be? If Price’s injury is minor and the only reason he’s staying out of the lineup is to prevent it from getting worse, it wouldn’t be surprising if it ends up being more than a game. The last time the Montreal Canadiens got Price back into the net earlier than he should’ve, it cost them the season.
Related Story: Another Reason for Price's Injury
Montoya hasn’t had the best season either stats wise. In three games, the 32-year-old has a .873 save percentage. However, he has given the Montreal Canadiens a chance to win in each of those appearances. The team has just been horrible in front of him and left him out to dry in portions of his starts.
A lot of fans have been excited about what Lindgren will do in the organization down the line. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the best start to his inaugural season with the Laval Rocket. Lindgren has a .883 save percentage in his nine games played with the team and, similar to Montoya, a goals against average over three. However, you can also hold that to the poor defence at times as Laval is giving up the most goals in the AHL (46).
Montoya has been a backup goaltender his whole NHL career, that is his role and he knows it. He should be able to take up the majority of the starts, assuming Price’s recovery takes some time. Expect to see Lindgren get the start against the Blackhawks on Sunday if the regular Habs starter isn’t ready.
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Lindgren’s sample of NHL experience has been good but he will also be playing against a team who has struggled to keep up defensively if he plays. On the other hand, opportunities for others to play goal on the Montreal Canadiens don’t around too often. Lindgren may find a way to reach another gear let the organization know that he’s still kicking.
It’ll be interesting to see how well this tandem does if Price misses more games than originally thought. There’s also the thought that this time off is more for his mentality opposed to a physical ailment. Whoever ends up playing needs to do well, and that goes for the entire team.
The Montreal Canadiens can’t afford to lose more games. They were five points out of the final wild card spot a few days ago, and now its up to eight. Stability in net is going to be an essential part to any comeback the Habs have planned for themselves. Whether it’s Price, Montoya, or Lindgren, something has to give.
Next: Free Agent Options Overseas
Do you think Montoya and Lindgren can play well if Price is out for a while? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Player stats from hockey-reference.com and eliteprospects.com