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Carey Price Has Solid Game Against Thrashers
Neil Becker
29sports.com
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was his typical modest self on Tuesday night after he played his best game since January in backstopping his team team to a much needed 6-3 victory against the Atlanta Thrashers.
A huge concern in Montreal ever since they started their rapid decent in late January has been the play of their 21 year-old starting goalie Price who has struggled badly since returning from an ankle injury. Price who enjoyed a solid rookie last year that saw him win 24 games, raised some recent concerns after allowing 3 or more goals in 15 of his last 19 games. The million dollar question in Montreal was whether Price should sit on the bench for awhile or perhaps go down to the American Hockey League and get his confidence back with the Bulldogs.
With Montreal barely holding onto the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and very much needing a win in Tuesday’s game against the Thrashers, coach and general manager Bob Gainey decided to give Price the start and it turned out to be the right decision.
“He made good saves for us in the first half of the game when the score was within a goal,” said Gainey about Price who turned aside nine of 10 first period shots. “I just felt he looked calmer, he looked more like he was going to play his game.”
Price got a standing ovation in the second period when with his team leading 3-2, he made a game saving glove save on the Thrashers most dangerous sniper Ilya Kovalchuk.
“I just closed my eyes and it went in my glove,” said Price. “I carried on from there.”
Canadiens veteran captain Saku Koivu who had a goal in this game pin- pointed that save as the turning point for Montreal who exploded for three goals in the game’s second half to pull away with the crucial victory.
“Throughout the game there are a lot of plays you can look at as a turning point, either a big hit or a block shot or the goalie makes a big save this that one,” Koivu said. “Instead of giving the momentun to their team he kept it on our side and gave us a second chance to take that two-goal lead.”
There is no dount that Price will be abck in net on Thursday when the Canadiens host the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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