Series: Carey Price still among the most successful goalkeepers of recent years

Marc Bergevin used to say that once in the playoffs, anything can happen. Clearly, with a goaltender of Carey Price’s calibre, there was a good chance that the 2021 scenario would be played out. The 2021 playoffs will have left a lasting impression, and Price, even if he didn’t win, will have had a taste of the Stanley Cup Final. Remember that all this happened a year after the playoffs on the bubble, when the Habs caused a surprise by beating the Penguins (3-1 in a 3-of-5) before going on to lose to Philly.

And even though Price didn’t make the playoffs last year, he still ranks second (tied with Semyon Varlamov) on the chart with 18 wins to his name. We hear that a certain Tampa Bay goaltender is alone on his island…

Is that good? Holy hell 😂 pic.twitter.com/xeEzxGWcUL

– Drew Livingstone (@ProducerDrew_) April 19, 2023

Price won five times in 2020 and 13 times in 2021. In my opinion, this sentence is important. Why is it important? Because that’s what made Price one of the best goalies of his generation: he played in the playoffs. The Habs knew they could count on their goaltender. In 2021, even though he missed the end of the regular season, he was extraordinary in the playoffs. Take the Golden Knights, for example. Why don’t they have a goalie in the standings, even though the club reached the Final Four twice in a row in 2020 and 2021? Lack of consistency in net. Edmonton reached the conference final last year and made the playoffs three times in three years between 2020 and 2022 (in addition to 2023)… but if Connor McDavid’s club doesn’t go all the way easily, it’s because of the goaltender.Imagine McJesus with Carey in his heyday… Colorado has won a lot of playoff games in recent years (including the Cup in 2022) and they’ve done it with multiple goalies. It’s the new way of doing things, since more and more clubs are having trouble finding goalies like Carey Price.It’s too bad his knees gave out on him…

Flashback

– Will he play tonight?

20 seconds of Bergeron. Normally, when a guy skates before the group, it means he’s not playing, but to be confirmed later 🐻 pic.twitter.com/HZ3zYE9M8U

– Marc-André Perreault (@MA_PerreaultTVA) April 19, 2023

– Still.

– Really?