Carey Price: Part Man, Part Brick Wall

I remember watching a Cabbie Presents clip last year in which he discussed how "beauty" is the most overused expression by hockey players. In my opinion, the most overused word by hockey writers is probably “clutch”. Clutch is used to describe a player who comes up big when his team needs him most, a “big players thrive in big moments” kind of thing. More often than not the word clutch is attributed to goal scorers because scoring more goals than your opponent is the key to winning the game.

Four years ago at the winter Olympics in Vancouver Sidney Crosby became one of the greatest example of a clutch player when he scored the overtime game winning goal against the United States to secure Canada’s gold medal on home soil. More recently Chicago Blackhawks forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have been clutch combining for seven of the eight game winning goals for the Hawks in the playoffs this year. Game 2 of the second round series against the Minnesota Wild is the only game so far this post-season that the Blackhawks have won where neither Kane nor Toews scored the game winning goal, and even then it was Toews who opened the scoring halfway through the first period. 

Most of the time when a goalie “stands on his head” to win a game for his team it is referred to as “stealing a game”, but when these game stealing performances become a recurring event, I don’t think you have any choice but to refer to said goalie as being clutch. A prime example of this is New York Ranger Henrik Lundqvist who has now won five straight game 7s for his team and dragged them into the Conference Final for the first time since 2012. After being outscored 11-5 in the first four games of the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lundqvist allowed only one goal in each of the remaining three games, averaging a .971 save percentage, saving his team from elimination. None of this is surprising, Lundqvist is known as the King for a reason, but another goalie who has been equally impressive this year and has garnered almost none of the attention is Montreal Canadiens starting goaltender Carey Price.

Price played for Team Canada this year at the Sochi Olympics, starting in every one of the three elimination games; he would allow only one goal in the first of these games, during the first period, on a breakaway against Latvia. Price would shutout the Latvians for the remaining 44 minutes and 19 seconds of the game, before shutting out everyone else for the remainder of the tournament. He would finish the tournament with .979 save percentage in elimination games stopping 70 of 71 shots; impressive results, but would they translate to the NHL?

On Monday night, with his team backed against the wall and facing a tough, competitive Boston Bruins team, Carey Price answered with a resounding YES. He stopped all 26 shots he faced, securing another shutout and forcing a deciding game 7 back in at the TD Garden in Boston. Dating back to February, Price has now played in four “elimination” games and has gone 184 minutes and 19 seconds without allowing a goal. The way Price is playing, I can tell you this, I wouldn’t want to the Bruins. 

Probably the most shocking part of this entire story is that Price has yet to receive any real recognition for his strong performance in net. Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist topped the goalie rankings in Sochi, with Price finishing third behind Jonathan Quick from the United States. He was also left off the nomination list for the Vezina Trophy, an award given to the goaltender who is adjudged to the best at the position, though his injury following the Olympics may have played a part in this particular snub. Here’s to hoping that if Price knocks off the Bruins tonight and then caries his team through the Conference Final to the Stanley Cup Final, that he will finally be rewarded for his efforts and receive the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. 

A year ago I thought Price was overrated and didn’t understand the hype, now I can’t wait to watch him prove me, and everyone else who doubted him, wrong. Go Habs Go!