STAGE SET FOR PRICE’S RETURN
Goalie denies rumours of off-ice problems, insists Habs can still qualify for playoffs
After Canadiens goalie Carey Price signed his eight-year, US$84-million contract extension during the summer, he said: “I’ve never thought about playing anywhere else. It’s a great place to be and I have enough experience to deal with anything that being a goaltender with the Canadiens can throw at you. I never really thought about putting on another uniform, I just thought it would be too weird.”
Price’s new contract doesn’t even kick in until next season, but he’s never really experienced anything like the last three weeks in Montreal, after suffering what the Canadiens called a “minor” lower-body injury on Nov. 2 in Minnesota.
“Weird” is a good word to describe the situation.
After missing 10 games with the “minor” injury, Price will return to action on Saturday night when the Buffalo Sabres visit the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690). Since suffering the injury during the pregame warm-up in Minnesota — and then playing in the game, allowing five goals on 26 shots in a loss to the Wild — there have been questions about the severity of Price’s injury, along with rumours about the goalie having off-ice problems and speculation he might be traded before his new deal kicks.
This week, Price’s wife, Angela, felt compelled to post on her Instagram account: “Just for the record I am not getting divorced or threatening a divorce nor do I want to leave Montreal. Just in case anyone was interested … though, the rumours have been pretty entertaining #chilloutpeople.”
Price was chilled out — as he normally is — when he met with the media after Friday’s practice in Brossard.
When asked about the rumours, Price said: “It’s nothing new here. I don’t really have much to say about it.”
When asked if they had reached the ridiculous point, resulting in his wife’s Instagram post, Price said: “Yeah, for sure.”
Was it difficult dealing with all the rumours?
“No,” Price said. “It’s not hard when it’s not true.”
At least the speculation about when Price might return to the lineup is over. Now it’s up to him to prove he’s still a world-class goalie at age 30.
This has been a difficult season for Price even before the injury, with his 3-7-1 record, 3.77 goalsagainst average and .877 save percentage. He has allowed four or more goals in seven of the 11 games he’s played.
Charlie Lindgren, who filled in for Price and posted a 3-4-1 record with a 2.43 goals-against average and .924 save percentage, was sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket after practice Friday.
Antti Niemi, who stopped 31 of 33 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Predators in Nashville on Thursday, will be Price’s backup with Al Montoya sidelined indefinitely with a concussion.
“I had a pretty good idea I was going to feel good today,” Price said after Friday’s practice. “We were just making sure that (I got) through a full practice feeling good and feeling like my game is where it should be.
“It’s just about getting timing back and getting into the groove.”
When asked if the injury took longer to heal than he expected, Price said: “Maybe a week (longer). I didn’t expect it to be quite this long, but you just want to make sure. You don’t want to get hurt again and be out for a longer period.”
Price said he watched a lot of video with goalie coach Stéphane Waite to prepare himself mentally to return, along with doing rehab exercises to get ready physically. At one point during his recovery, Price went six straight days without going on the ice after the Canadiens said he would miss only two. Price has also gone back to his old skates from last season, hoping that might help.
“Just kind of familiar,” Price said about the old skates. “It’s just something that I feel familiar with, and technically, I feel like I have more of an advantage.”
The Canadiens went 4-4-2 during Price’s absence despite getting solid goaltending from Lindgren and a strong performance from Niemi. With an 8-123 overall record, the Canadiens sat in 14th place in the Eastern Conference heading into Friday’s games, five points out of the eighth and final playoff spot. The Canadiens have the worst offence in the NHL, averaging 2.30 goals per game, and rank 29th of 31 teams in defence, allowing an average of 3.43 goals per game.
Seven of the Canadiens’ next eight games are at home and four of the next five are against Atlantic Division rivals.
Price insists the Canadiens can still make the playoffs.
“Anything can happen,” the goalie said. “There’s a lot of hockey left to be played. We’ve just got to take it step by step.
“You want to be able to come back and make a difference,” Price added. “The season’s not over yet.”
It’s certainly been a crazy one so far for Price and the Canadiens.
We were just making sure that (I got) through a full practice feeling good and feeling like my game is where it should be.