Monday, January 17, 2011

Price shines in 18-minute effort over Calgary

Teammates congratulate Price on his outstanding 18-minute win. Photo: Dario Ayala/The Gazette

Montreal's Carey Price once again showed why he's one of the great young goaltenders in the N.H.L. 

Coming into the game at the 3-minute mark of the third period after starter Alex Auld had surrendered his 4th goal--which allowed the Flames to complete their comeback in erasing a 4-goal deficit--Price was spectacular in his 18:08 of ice time, turning away all four shots he faced.  

Sitting in his dressing room stall after the Habs' 5-4 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames, Price reflected on the satisfaction that came with the win.

"A night like this is a goaltender's dream", said Price. "A light skate before the game, take a few practice shots, then relax for a couple of periods while checking out some of the fine product in the seats around me, or when they flash a pair up on the big screen to get some cheap cheers from the crowd. Then a quick skate out to the crease--I mean, I don't even have to bother with any of that warm up stuff--and bango, I've got my league-leading 23rd win. What's not to like?"

The Canadiens had jumped out to in impressive 4-0 lead before the Flames popped in a couple of goals in the second-half of the 2rd period, then tied the game with two quick goals in the first three minutes of the 3rd, signaling the beginning of Price's night.

"When I was called into action, I had just started listening to side one of 'Animals' on my iPod." recounted the All-Star goalie. "And when I got back to the bench, win in my back pocket, it had just started into the last minute of 'Dogs'. I'm kind of pissed that I missed almost the whole thing."

Music wasn't the only thing on his mind, however.

"To tell you the truth, I was kind of getting tired of having to bust my ass for a full 60 minutes, but then getting tagged with a loss because the guys in front of me were mailing it in with 8 or 10-minute nights. I mean, some of them didn't deserve the hot water in their showers," said Price, his voice starting to show emotion. "I could already have 28 or 30 wins if they pressed with the kind of 18-minute effort that I showed tonight."

The Canadiens are next off to Buffalo for a tilt at the HSBC Arena, but not before Price tends to an important matter: treating teammate and good friend P.K. Subban with a post-game meal for scoring the Habs 5th goal, in overtime, to seal the win. 

"I'll think I'll take him for wings at Cage Aux Sports."
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2 comments:

Topham said...

Not to be trite, but it was 4 shots and 2 scoring chances for the Flames. Carey played as well as he could have, but his wasn't the performance of the night.

YOUR RESIDENT BLOGGER said...

It was a sarcastic post, Topham. Just pulling legs, that's all.