Price era gets off to great start for Habs
MONTREAL - The Carey Price era is officially under way.
The rookie goaltender took over the No. 1 job after Cristobal Huet was sent to the Washington Capitals at the trading deadline Tuesday afternoon and he passed his first test as he backstopped the Canadiens to a 5-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. The 20-year-old Price stopped 26 shots.
Price had mixed feeling about Huet's departure. He said it was like "losing a big brother" but he also said that he thought he was ready for the pressure of being the man.
"(Huet) was unbelievable. He was a first-class guy, a great teammate who took me under his wing. I can't say anything bad about that man."
In fact, Price said that Huet's influence continued even after he was traded. He left behind a message on the bulletin board in the Canadiens' dressing room, which read: "Had an awesome time with you off and on the ice. Best of luck."
Price held the Thrashers to a second-period power-play goal from Ilya Kovalchuk - his 41st of the season - before the Canadiens took control of the game at both ends of the ice in the third period.
Christopher Higgins provided the offence with a pair of goals - his 20th and 21st of the season - and an assist while the Canadiens limited the Thrashers to only five shots over the final 20 minutes.
The win allowed the Canadiens to move one point behind the slumping Ottawa Senators in the battle for first place in the Northeast Division with 77 points.
As for the Thrashers, they fell fell nine points behind division leader Carolina in the Southeast and seven back of eighth-place Philadelphia.
Higgins snapped a 1-1 tie when Michael Ryder set him up for a power-play goal at 2:10 of the third period and he scored again at 4:56 when Andrei Markov's shot slipped through Kari Lehtonen's pads and Higgins was waiting on the other side.
Higgins returned the favour, setting up Markov on a power play at 8:17 and Sergei Kostitsyn completed the rout at 9:04.
The Canadiens opened the scoring when Maxim Lapierre, one of the players whose name was mentioned in speculation over the Canadiens' failed attempt to trade for the Thrashers' Marian Hossa, scored his fifth goal of the season at 12:47 of the opening period.
Lapierre did what a big man should do, taking up space in front of the net, and fighting for position after Lehtonen left a rebound off a shot by Josh Gorges. Lapierre corralled the loose puck and found enough room to score.
While Price said it as tough to lose a teammate, he said the passing of the trade deadline seem to lift a cloud from some players.
"There was definitely pressure taken off some guys," he said."When you have your name thrown around for a month, you feel the heat and it was a relief when (the deadline passed)."
The Canadiens' power play, which ranks No. 1 in the NHL, went 2-for-4 Tuesday night while the Thrashers went 1-for-4.
The Canadiens travel to Buffalo for a game Friday night. They return home to face the New Jersey Devils on Saturday before embarking on a four-game West Coast trip which will take them to San Jose, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Salut HUET !
