This was supposed to be a Monday morning full of anticipation and excitement. The Montreal Canadiens were preparing for game two of the Eastern Conference Finals at home. Instead this Monday ended up being a disaster, and I mean disaster. News out of Montreal Monday morning, was that star goaltender Carey Price would be out with an injury for the remainder of the Conference Finals.
The last couple of days have been filled with speculation on how bad Price’s right leg was hurt. The injury came in the second period game one when New York Rangers Chris Kreider collided with goaltender Carey Price. The play created great frustration in Montreal, and Canadiens coach Michel Therrien described the play as, “It’s a reckless play and that’s the truth. It’s not the first time he’s going at goalies. You end up losing your best player, but our group has faced a lot of adversity over the course of the season and we have the attitude to respond really well and I expect we’ll start tonight.” The Canadiens will have to adjust to salvage a win at home.
Therrien later in the day, named the Game 2 starter as AHL all-star Dustin Tokarski. This is a very interesting and risky decision. Looking past long time, and solid back-up Peter Budaj, could haunt the Canadiens coach. If the Canadiens win, and Tokarski looks great he will be a hero. It will be shades of when young goalies Ken Dryden or rookie star Patrick Roy lead the Canadiens on to success in the playoffs. It can also go drastically wrong. If Tokarski struggles how do you turn to Budaj. It is obvious that they do not have faith at all in their back-up net minder. If they did they would have given him the nod in net. Now it will be very difficult to turn to him if things go wrong for Tokarski.
Tonight will be a very interesting night in Montreal.
Brad Burud the owner/editor of the Inside Edge Hockey News. I am a huge fan of hockey, from youth hockey, to junior hockey, and of course professional hockey. I have played, coached, worked as statistician, and watched hockey all of my life. Hockey is not just a game, it is a lifestyle and family. The game of hockey is great! It can bring you nights of great enjoyment. It also brings nights where you feel like your team will never win. I am proud to be a journalist for the greatest game in the world. I have a degree in Business Administration, Psychology from Minot State University. I also have a Hockey General Manager and Scouting, and Sports Communications/Journalism degree from Sports Management Worldwide. I am also a member of the Sports Executives Association. Most of all I am a fan. Hockey is a huge part of my life and my families life.