A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens: 7 Talking Points

By Sebastian High

MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 02: Goaltender Carey Price #31 (L) and Nick Suzuki #14 of the Montreal Canadiens (R) stand during the national anthem prior to the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 02: Goaltender Carey Price #31 (L) and Nick Suzuki #14 of the Montreal Canadiens (R) stand during the national anthem prior to the game against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 7
Next
VANCOUVER, BC – MARCH 08: Goalie Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens stops Brock Boeser #6 of the Vancouver Canucks in close during NHL hockey action at Rogers Arena on March 8, 2021 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC – MARCH 08: Goalie Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens stops Brock Boeser #6 of the Vancouver Canucks in close during NHL hockey action at Rogers Arena on March 8, 2021 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

7. Carey Price

Last week, I refused to include a talking point on the firing of Stephane Waite. It was a topic that had already been covered in great detail and one that I thought to be relatively insignificant. Would the firing of a successful goalie coach who had a good relationship with Carey Price really kickstart the netminder? Would a new coach with new ideas really be the deciding factor in Price turning his game around? I thought not.

While I stand behind the core of these points, Waite’s firing has clearly lit a fire under Price, as he has been world-class in all 4 games he has played since. Before the firing, Price had a save percentage of .887, in the 4 games since he has had a .963 SV% and a 3-0-1 record. This hot streak has improved his season SV% to .906.

Beyond the pure statistics, the Price we have seen in net in these four games is the Carey Price we saw in the bubble and the Carey Price we were accustomed to seeing in the mid-2010s: calm, confident and controlled. His positioning has been perfect and he has come up with spectacular saves when the need has arisen; he’s been outstanding.

Price’s play will, of course, come back down to earth; the Price that would consistently steal games is likely a thing of the past, but if he can be one of the league’s top 5-10 goalies, his contract will certainly sting less and the team will have a real shot at a playoff run. I just saw that he is getting the start against Calgary and I really hope this final segment is not rendered obsolete by the time the article is posted through a poor game, but I have to say, my confidence in Price has significantly risen in the past 10 days, so it just might remain relevant on Sunday.

All statistics sourced from EliteProspects.com.

Home/Editorials