Nov 10 Don't Look Now But Carey Price Has Arrived

Let me be clear, this is not going to be a comparison between Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak. There's already enough of that around various media, brasseries and water coolers in this city. Hell, search "Carey Price" on NHL.com and what's the first article that pops up? "Halak Only Getting Better in First Month with Blues". Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for what Halak did and I'm glad he's still having success but quite frankly, I couldn't care less what he or the St. Louis Blues are doing. This is all about Carey Price. His time is here.

Price entered this season in the most unenviable of positions. After Halak was traded, Price was handed the Montreal Canadiens' starting goaltenders job, arguably the most difficult and pressure-packed job in professional sports if you think about it. Price had quite the act to follow. After all, his predecessor carried the team to within 7 wins of the Stanley Cup and more importantly, made people rethink which word should appear on Montreal's stop signs.

Price has long been criticized for being too laid back and too nonchalant in his attitude but what better personality to have to deal with such lofty expectations and such anger and resentment from fans and media claiming Price was given a position he didn't deserve?

Granted, Price is only 14 games into the season. But small sample size or not, there is a noticeable difference in this goaltender's ability that would suggest his success to this point is no fluke. As I write this, Price stands second in the entire NHL in wins with eight. He's fifth in save percentage among goalies with at least 10 starts with .918. And after last night's blanking of the mighty Canucks, his two shutouts is good for second in the league. It's been less than two months since Price had boos rain down on him from the gutless bastards who reside in the shadows of the Bell Centre, as Bob Gainey once called them. Doesn't that seem like ancient history at this point? Now, instead of receiving boos, Price is receiving Molson Cups and chants of "Carey, Carey, Carey".

Looking purely at the stat sheet, Price has had better games than others. But as opposed to previous seasons, I can count on one hand the soft goals Price has let in. Price has largely been victimized by deflected shots, defensive breakdowns and Hal Gill standing in front of him, a man so large his jersey could cover the city when it rains. Yes, all goalies deal with these things and sometimes, miraculously, they find a way to stop some of these shots but in general, if Price has seen it, he's stopped it, a far cry from his last few seasons. His technique, positioning and movement are unquestionably much improved, something goaltending coach Pierre Groulx deserves much credit for.

I point to two shining examples of this from last night's game alone. In the third period Daniel Sedin, one of the more feared snipers in the league, received a pass in the slot and had a point blank shot on Price. He was ready and brushed it aside easily with his blocker as if it was a routine shot from centre ice. Also in the third, Alex Edler skated in and wired one at Price but had nothing to shoot at as Price came out, covered his angle perfectly and made himself look bigger than his already sizeable 6'3", 219 lb. frame. The only awkward save Price had to make all night was when he tripped behind his net and rushed out in front to stop a point shot. On Twitter, I called the performance the most technically sound game I've seen from Price in a Habs uniform.

I'm tempering my enthusiasm. The roller coaster ride of Price's development isn't over. He remains a baby in the grand scheme of things at just 23 years old. But Carey Price is quelling a lot of the fears Canadiens fans had when Halak was traded and he's starting to give people the sense that maybe he was worth the 5th overall pick in 2005 after all.

Will Martinez runs the 'Hey, My Name is Will' blog and is a contributor for TheFranchise.ca. You can follow Will on Twitter @heymynameiswill

Tags: Carey price \ goaltender \ habs \ Jaroslav Halak \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL

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