Montreal Canadiens: Carey Price is the Obvious Choice to Start in Game 4 vs the Lightning

While the Montreal Canadiens get ready to face the Tampa Bay Lightning for what could be the last time this season, the lineup remains uncertain, and that could be intentional.

However, something head coach Dominique Ducharme made clear was that Carey Price will be the starter tonight.

“Carey’s the guy playing Monday. So, if people wonder who’s going to be in net, Carey’s going to be in net,” he said.

Although his record head-to-head with the Lightning’s goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy isn’t the best, he’s not the only one to blame on these three games this series.

In Game 1, he allowed five goals on 27 shots, with a .815 save percentage. In Game 2, he allowed three goals on 23 shots, and ended the night with a .870 SV%. And in Game 3, he allowed, once again, five goals on 29 shots, with a .828 game SV%.

This means he has an average of .838 SV%, while Vasilevskiy stands at .946 SV% so far against the Canadiens this series.

Although those numbers are alarming, and the Canadiens need Price to be “playoff Price” again, he still is their best shot at forcing a Game 5 against this incredibly talented Tampa roster.

Taking a look at these three games against the Lighting, it’s easy to see that many of their goals were either flukes, unstoppable, or caused by Canadiens’ mistakes.

Don’t get me wrong, I know how skilled the Lightning is, but if it weren’t for the Habs’ misfortune, they would probably be tying the series tonight, if not leading it already.

When I say flukes, I’m thinking of when Ben Chiarot tried catching the puck, but ended up going into the Habs’ net, or the deflection off of Jeff Petry’s skate. And what I mean by unstoppable, is when Price can’t even see a shot being take, because of his own team standing in front of him.

Then, of course, there are also the many mistakes the Canadiens made as a team, that result in turnovers and goals, because that’s how good Tampa is.

So if any changes are made, they should be to give the team a spark. So they should either be regarding forwards or bottom-two defencemen, and not goaltenders.

Although Jake Allen was great with the Canadiens during the regular, and a big part of why the Canadiens even made the playoffs, I think if the team (including Price) can get back in the zone, it should be enough to force a Game 5.

However, it is an elimination game, and desperation will be obvious, so be ready for the unexpected.