Carey Price was 20 years old when he carved out a position with the Canadiens. During the 15 seasons he spent in the tricolor uniform, he was the teammate of 235 players. Of these, Brendan Gallagher is the one who, after Tomas Plekanec, has shared the same locker room the longest.
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Archive photo, Martin Chevalier
Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher, seen here in 2020, have shared great times with the Habs for 10 years.
“It’s different looking around and not seeing your name,” Gallagher said after the team’s practice for the Minnesota Wild’s visit tomorrow night.
“Carey has been the focal point of this organization for so many seasons. I consider myself lucky to have spent all these years with him,” added the Canadiens’ active player with the most seniority.
Recalled by the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge during the 2012-2013 campaign, Gallagher had a few memorable playoff runs with Price in goal. When asked to define his greatest moments in the company of the British Columbian masked man, two immediately come to mind: the seventh games against the Boston Bruins, in 2014, and against the Toronto Maple Leafs , in 2021.
“I remember how nervous I was before those two games. But to look in his direction and see that he was disarmingly calm gave me a sense of relief. At that time, I knew he would be the best player on the ice. There aren’t many players who can give their teammates so much confidence. »
The $100 Question
The 2014 playoffs were the same ones that ended abruptly for Price, hit by Chris Kreider, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers.
Would CH have escaped with great honors without this injury to Price?
” It’s hard to say. He was so dominant it would have been hard to bet against him, Gallagher said. “Ticker” [Dustin Tokarski] took over. He did a good job. Basically, we lost because we weren’t able to score against their goalkeeper. [Henrik Lundqvist]. »
This Olympian calm of Price is also what jumped out at Jake Allen during the 2021 playoffs, which saw the Canadian reach the final.
“He made big saves against Vegas, he changed the series. I could see that he got into the minds of Golden Knights players. In Vegas matches, Pricer made a difference. Without him, this series wouldn’t have been the same,” said Allen, who was then completing his first campaign in Montreal.
For the love of the logo
Allen knows well the difficult reality of goalkeepers. The hip and knee problems that come with the profession.
This is why he has enormous respect for Price, whom he saw play, despite the pain “for the logo he wore in front of him”.
It still brings us back to an undeniable reality: you never know when the last lap will come.
“When you’re healthy and you can tie your skates, you always have to be smiling. You never know what can happen in this league,” Allen said.
Wise advice.
♦ Juraj Slafkovsky was again absent from training. He underwent medical examinations for an upper body injury. The team should get the results by Wednesday.