2010-11 Montreal Canadiens Preview: All Carey Price, All the Time

by Adam Gretz

Filed under: Canadiens

What else, other than goaltending, would be the topic of discussion for this year's Montreal Canadiens team? It's always about the goaltending in Montreal. There are few -- if any -- players in the NHL this season that will be under more pressure to perform -- and perform at an extremely high level -- than Montreal's Carey Price. Not only is he the starting goaltender for the most storied team in the NHL with a rich history at the position, he's taking over as the unquestioned, undisputed No. 1 netminder after this summer's trade that sent playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues.

Have Price's struggles throughout the early part of his career been overstated? Probably, but everything regarding goaltenders in Montreal is overstated. He hasn't been as bad as his detractors will say -- he's actually been quite solid for a goaltender his age at the NHL level -- he just hasn't yet established himself as a top-of-the-line starting goalie.

He also hasn't been as good as Halak was, especially when it comes to playoff time, where Halak elevated his game last year to a freakish level, almost single-handedly (with a little help from some timely Michael Cammalleri goals) taking the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Finals.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Darren Helm Matt Hendricks Adam Henrique T.J. Hensick