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It’s been well over a year since Carey Price recorded a shutout in a regular season game. If you’re counting playoffs, Price hasn’t had a shutout since last August against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Yes, victories matter more to the Montreal Canadiens and Price. Shutouts are pretty much style points that don’t count in the standings. When teams clinch playoff berths, the NHL doesn’t give them half points for the number of shutouts they obtain in a season.
But considering Price’s up-and-down 2021 campaign where he’s struggled to get through mental roadblocks, a shutout might have been nice for his confidence. If nothing else, perhaps his spirit. He had done his part throughout much of the contest.
“He made some good saves for us to keep it 1-0 and give us a chance to extend the lead,” Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry said.
In fact, Price was 40.5 seconds away from blanking an opponent and giving his team a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Who cares if the Canadiens didn’t get a second or a third goal? The Canadiens would walk away with another win over the Canucks and Price would win his third consecutive start. Price has allowed one goal in each of his last two starts. Montreal could wipe the sweat from their brow and move on to Tuesday.
