Disappointing season frames Price’s milestone
Carey Price caught up to a legend Sunday, but Taylor Hall spoiled what could have been a perfect night for the goaltender.
Price played in his 556th game, which ties him with Jacques Plante for the most appearances by a Canadiens’ goaltender. Hall put a damper on the evening when he scored a short-handed goal late in the third period to give the New Jersey Devils a 2-1 win at the Bell Centre.
“I’m a little disappointed with the loss, but I’m definitely proud of reaching that level,” said Price, who turned in a solid performance with 30 saves. “It’s a legendary name and to be spoken of in the same breath is pretty cool.”
News of the milestone was flashed on the scoreboard midway through the first period and Price said it was poignant to top a list that included hall of famers Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden and Bill Durnan.
When asked if the mark made him feel old, the 31-year-old replied: “When I’m 300 games ahead of him, maybe.”
Price kept the game close, but the Devils took their first lead when Hall stepped out of the penalty box and beat Price on a breakaway with 4:07 to play in the third period.
Price noted the Devils came into the game with a league-leading 11 short-handed goals, and said a “lucky bounce” allowed Travis Zajac to send Hall in alone. It was Hall’s 189th career goal, but his first short-handed tally.
Price appeared to be moved by the scoreboard tribute and coach Claude Julien said the players on the bench had a similar reaction.
“It’s quite a feat,” Julien said. “He’s been here for a long time and played a lot of games and I think the players were extremely proud and probably disappointed we couldn’t win that important game for him. Nonetheless, they gave their best.”
This was one of Price’s stronger performances in what has been a disappointing season. He said he was tracking the puck well and it took a deflection by Nico Hischier and a perfect shot by Hall to beat him. But this was another night when the Canadiens would have needed a shutout to win.
The lone Montreal goal was a power-play effort from Daniel Carr, who beat his former Union College teammate Keith Kinkaid. Montreal went one for four on the power play, but failed to score with a two-man advantage in the third period. That failure led to Hall’s breakaway.
The Canadiens did do an excellent job killing penalties after allowing three power-play goals in a 5-2 loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
Artturi Lehkonen, who set up Carr’s goal and also logged 3:37 on the penalty kill, explained the turnaround by saying: “A lot of guys were pissed off after the game Saturday.”
One of the standouts on the penalty kill was rookie defenceman Noah Juulsen, who was playing in his 20th NHL game. He had 20:32 of ice time, including a game-high 6:28 on the PK. He also led the Canadiens with six hits and three blocked shots.
“We’re putting those guys in those positions not to see whether they can handle it, but to give them the best experience they can get,” Julien said. “(Playing against) good guys like Hall and Hischier are good ways to get better.
“At this time of year, we’re looking to evaluate more than we’re looking necessarily to win the game. We want our guys to benefit from that. (Juulsen’s) doing a good job at that. We have a lot of young guys who are gaining some valuable experience from this tough stretch we’re going through. It’s going to pay off down the road.”