Facing elimination, Price raised game
MONTREAL — During his 17 seasons in the NHL, Eric Staal has played against Canadiens goalie Carey Price many times.
Now that they’re teammates, Staal was asked ahead of Game 7 of their first-round playoff series against Toronto if he thought Price had gotten into the heads of the Maple Leafs players.
“As an opposing player, I don’t think you ever want to admit that,” Staal said after the Canadiens’ morning skate Monday in Toronto. “But I think there’s probably times where there’s moments of that.”
Game 7 Monday night looked like one of those moments with Price stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced in a 3-1 victory as the Canadiens eliminated the Leafs. The Canadiens were leading 3-0 on goals by Brendan Gallagher, Corey Perry and Tyler Toffoli when the Leafs’ William Nylander spoiled Price’s shutout bid with only 1:36 remaining in the third period.
Price finished the series with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. His save percentage for the final three games — all won by the Canadiens — was .945.
“I know playing in front of him a feeling of knowing he’s going to be there is a great feeling as a player,” Staal said ahead of Game 7. “There’s going to be moments in the game where there’s breakdowns and chances against. They’re a good team and they’re good players and when you have someone like Carey back there it’s huge. I love the way he approaches the game. I’ve been with him here and then with a couple of other events (with Team Canada) and just the way that he prepares, the way that he carries himself, it goes a long way for our group and I think it’s important.”
Price had his struggles during the regular seasons and his inconsistency early in the year resulted in goalie coach Stéphane Waite getting fired. Price finished the regular season with a 12-7-5 record, a 2.64 GAA and a .901 save percentage and missed the last 13 games with a concussion.
But this marks the third straight postseason when Price has been able to raise his game. When the Canadiens lost to the New York Rangers in the first round in 2017, Price had a 1.86 GAA and a
.933 save percentage. Last year, when the Canadiens eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round, Price had a 1.78 GAA and a .936 save percentage.
“He likes challenges,” Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said when asked about the difference between Price’s regular-season and postseason stats “Carey’s done so much throughout his career. When he gets into those big games, he just brings his best and even more. It’s part of his character. He wants to be in those situations and that’s where great athletes make the difference.”
Like Staal, Canadiens defenceman Joel Edmundson played against Price before becoming his teammate this season with the Canadiens.
“He’s been the best goalie in this league for the past 10 years, in my opinion,” Edmundson said Monday morning. “Yeah, he had some rough patches throughout the start of the year and, obviously, we missed him when he was injured. But we knew when he got back to being healthy, he was going to be that rock back there for us and he’s been that. He’s been unbelievable this playoffs. He’s an awesome guy in the dressing room, everyone wants to be around him.”
While Staal and Edmundson have experience playing with and against Price, the younger Jake Evans grew up watching Price play on TV and is now his teammate.
“He’s unbelievable,” Evans said ahead of Game 7. “You see it in practice … he’s so hard to score on. In games, he just brings that calming presence. You know he’s going to be the wall back there and be a rock back there for you. Not even just how he plays, but off the ice he just brings so much to this team and helps us out so much. He’s just been so good so far.”
That didn’t change in Game 7.