Carey Price looks like he’s back to the world class goalie that myself and everyone is used to seeing in the Montreal Canadians net.
The Montreal Canadians are 1-0-1 to start the 2018-19 NHL regular season after going up against two of the most prolific offensive teams the league. A record like that has to offer hope for the fans who went into the new year surrounded in pessimism.
The Canadians have carried the majority of both of those games, but they haven’t been played without defensive lapses, to say the least. Which is where Carey Price has been at his best.
October 3rd vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
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Price was awesome for the Habs in the season opener. He faced 26 shots in the overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs making 23 saves for a .855 save percentage. Now if you didn’t watch this hockey game, the statistics are deceiving. Price made two or three huge saves that he had no business making, and the three that beat him were world class shots by world-class players. The 31-year-old made a ten-bell stop on Kasperi Kapanen with about one second left in regulation to secure the first point of the season for the Canadians.
October 6th vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Price wasn’t worked very hard on this night, but when he had to come up big, boy did he ever. He stopped 21 of 22 shots for a .955 save percentage, which is good enough to win a lot of hockey games, especially when it’s against a powerhouse like the Penguins. Price once again made a couple “did he really save that” saves when the games was 2-0 for Montreal helping the Canadians to a lead that the Penguins just simply couldn’t overcome.
Final Thoughts
The Montreal Canadians have the potential to surprise a lot of teams this year. Much like the New Jersey Devils or the Colorado Avalanche from last season who went on to make the playoffs. I’m not going to promise a playoff birth for the Canadians this season, however, with the speed that they’ve been playing with through the first two games they can give other teams fits when they’re trying to break out of their own zone.
When you combine that with the goaltending in which you can expect to receive from Price which can literally steal you two points on any given night is a formula that might keep you competitive in the Atlantic division.
Acknowledgements: Game stats from Hockey-Reference.