He was almost easy to ignore as the Canadiens had their way — four lines churning and backing the Oilers into the corner with a 4-0 lead built on a power-play goal, two at even-strength and one shorthanded.
Almost.
For as dominant as Montreal was in this game — fully, completely, and it was compensated with a 5-1 win — it was Price who delivered on the key tenet of the plan.
If you want to beat the Oilers — even this deeper group than we’ve seen most recently in Edmonton — you have to hope to contain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. You can’t count on stopping them outright, but keeping them from scoring four points apiece, like they did in Thursday’s win over the Vancouver Canucks, is a must.
And on most nights, it takes a full team effort to do that.
But on this night, it took a superstar. The one named Price.
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He is the equalizer on Montreal’s side, still very much the steady hand on this new-and-improved, bleu, blanc et rouge ship, and he showed it on his first save of the game — a dandy on Kyle Turris — and on the 33 that followed.
But the two saves Price made on McDavid, and the six he made on Draisaitl, were the difference between this game being close and it ending as it did.
Canadiens coach Claude Julien agrees.
“It’s certain he had a huge impact,” Julien said after Saturday’s game. “Listen, we’re not blind; we saw the chances they had to score and how solid Carey Price was on them. He was an excellent goalie for us tonight. We did good things, but we still have things we’ll continue to try to improve, and there were maybe too many chances against at a point…”
“It’s hard to think, but… I think he’s getting better and better…” Brendan Gallagher on Carey Price.
There was about 15 minutes of play between the Canadiens holding tight to a 1-0 lead late in the first period and expanding to 4-0 in the 10th minute of the second that come to mind.
It started with Price sliding across his crease to get a pad on a late first-period breakaway for McDavid.
Big-time save, yeah.
But Price is a big-time-save goaltender.
As Canadiens assistant captain Brendan Gallagher put it, “Probably the best player in the world coming down on him, but if you’re sitting on the bench you almost just know you’re going to get the save.”
Almost.
If you’re sitting on Edmonton’s bench, you’re practically celebrating McDavid’s goal before the puck has even crossed the line.
“Connor’s, in my opinion, the best player in the world… it’s a pleasure to share the ice with him.”–Carey Price, on the challenge of facing Connor McDavid.
Price took nothing for granted on the play. He didn’t guess, he didn’t try to bait McDavid into shooting to a specific spot; he just let the play come his way.
“It wasn’t really a read; it was just kind of a reaction,” Price said after the game. “He came in with a lot of speed and I was just able to close the holes.”
Because that’s what Price does when he’s on his game. He just closes holes.
The 33-year-old pulled a page out of former Oilers goaltender Bill Ranford’s book early in the second period, stacking his pads on a Draisaitl snapper from 16 feet away to close a hole. It was a deadly power-play chance turned away with flair.
But Price made all the other hard saves look easy.
He made the easy ones look easy, too, which is not what you’d say of Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen on this night.
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Still, the Canadiens made Koskinen’s night difficult. They deserve their due — if not for helping Price a bit with McDavid, Draisaitl and Co., then certainly for what they did offensively.
They started with wave after wave of pressure, inundating the Oilers and knocking them on their heels with their speed. Jeff Petry opened the scoring on the power play soon after.
The former Oiler added one at 5-on-5 after Tomas Tatar made it 2-0.
Jake Evans scored unassisted on a shorthanded rush before the game was half over, and the Canadiens suffocated the life out of the rest of this one before Tatar buried a breakaway beauty with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third.
The goal that beat Price? A laser from Slater Koekkoek with 8:01 remaining — an open shot from a sharp angle that grazed the goaltender’s mask and pinged off the back bar.
Shutout bid busted, but spirit barely dented.
Sure, Price was mad about it, but he was much happier about earning his first win of the season.
It was a commanding performance for him, and his teammates, and they all felt it — even if Julien wisely downplayed it knowing the next meeting with the Oilers is less than 48 hours away.
“We’re a fast team. We consider ourselves fast,” Julien said. “On the other side, they were playing their third game in four nights. So there was certainly a fatigue element on the other side that took away some of their speed.
“But it was up to us to be smart and take advantage of the fact that they were playing their third in four nights.”
And it was up to Price to make the difference against two players who are among the very best no matter what the situation. Even if the shine was off of him in this game, he did exactly that.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
