Concern for Carey Price, Habs will have his knee evaluated
Anthony Scultore
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The Montreal Canadiens will face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, but Carey Price will not be in goal. Instead, he will travel with the team to see a specialist regarding his surgically repaired knee after just four games back from the injury.
Price, 34, missed practice Tuesday and originally wasn’t going to travel with the team to New York.
“It’s tough to tell, he will continue to get evaluated so it’s tough to comment on that before we get all the information,” Canadiens interim coach Martin St. Louis said. “I’m happy that he was able to play but we’ll see what the next few days will bring.”
Concern for Carey Price
With the Canadiens still recovering from a Stanley Cup defeat against the Tampa Bay Lighting, Carey Price underwent knee surgery roughly two weeks later on July 23. He recently returned to action and started his first game on April 15.
This season, Price is 0-4-0 with a 4.04 goals-against average and an .853 save percentage in those contests.
“You’re talking about Carey Price, a goalie that’s been here forever; one of the best in the league,” Habs forward Josh Anderson said. “So anytime you hear that news it’s a concern.”
Price’s return was an emotional one
The longtime Habs goaltender finally was able to play a game this year after a long comeback from offseason surgery this month. With his family rinkside, they witnessed an absolute outpouring of love for Price by the fans in Montreal.
“It was a lot of fun, obviously it was heartwarming,” Price said. “It made me feel really wanted. It was definitely emotional, but I was able to stifle that and stay focused because I wanted to play well tonight.”
Price, who last played July 7, 2021, in the Stanley Cup Final, stopped 17 shots in a 3-0 loss to the Islanders.
The 2014-15 Hart Memorial Trophy and Vezina Trophy winner has played his entire 15-year career with Montreal, compiling a 360-261-79 record with 49 shutouts, a .917 save percentage and a 2.51 GAA.
Before the start of the 2021-22 season, Price voluntarily entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program to address his mental health. He said in a statement in November that he’d let himself “get to a very dark place” and entered a residential treatment facility for substance use.
The Canadiens officially list Price as day-to-day with just two games remaining in the regular season. They are tied with Arizona for the fewest points in the NHL at 51.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article.