Carey Price knee injury, will miss at least 6 weeks

It has been announced that Montreal Canadien's Carey Price will miss the next 6 weeks of action due to a knee related injury. It is said that he sustained the injury when he slipped fell on a puck in warm-up in a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on October 29th.

Price had originally missed 9 games prior to the Oilers game. He returned for a three games last week, then aggravated his injury in the third game versus the New York Rangers. Due to this injury he will miss  2016 Winter Classic versus the Boston Bruins on January 1st.

Princeton University alumni and now Canadiens backup, Mike Condon has been in relief of Price's absence for the last couple of weeks. He has posted a decent 8-2-3 record along with a 2.19 GAA and a .916 SV% in 14 games. Carey Price has gone 10-2-0 over his last 12 games, posting a 2.06 GAA and a .920 SV%.

20 year old rookie goaltender Zach Fucale has been recalled from St. Johns to back up Mike Condon. In his first year as a pro, Fucale has posted a 7-2-2 record along with a 3.12 GAA and a .907 SV%. Dustin Tokarski has yet again been re-assigned to the St. Johns Ice Caps. Pretty surprising!

Sept. 25th, 2015; #31 Carey Price (Eric Bolte - USA TODAY Sports)

Devils get revenge on Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens - 2     New Jersey Devils - 3  (OT)

Montreal, Quebec --

Playing each other in consecutive nights, the Devils (12-9-2) got their revenge over the Canadiens (18-4-3), after falling 3-2 in a shootout the night before. It was a home and home stand of comebacks between the two clubs. After trailing the first game 2-0, the Habs came back and put up a W in a shootout to secure 2 points. At the Bell Centre, the Devils repeated Montreal's heroics. Trailing 2-0 on two Galchenyuk goals midway through the third, New Jersey scored late to get them to overtime where John Moore completed the come back, putting one past Condon. New Jersey's iron man, Corey Schnieder (11-6-2) played a fantastic game between the pipes, backstopping 30 of Montreal's 32 shots, earning him a .938 SV%. Although he was on the  losing end, Mike Condon (8-2-3) played a decent game. He put up a .903 SV%, stopping 28 of 31 shots redirected at him. 

Similar to last nights game in New Jersey, the game started off slow, both teams unable to put their team on the board. It took 29 minutes of game play before Alex Galchenyuk deflected a high shot from Nathan Beaulieu past Schneider who didn't see a thing. The Bleu, Blanc et Rouge went into the third with a 1-0 lead. Playing in only his second game of the season due to injuries, long time Devil, Patrik Elias, got called for interfering fellow countryman Tomas Fleishmann. Montreal took no time to execute, scoring nine seconds into the Power Play. Galchenyuk tallied his second of the night, burying one in the back of the net off a scramble in front. Two minutes later, Patrik Elias redeemed himself by deflecting one five hole, on a slap shot from defenseman Adam Larsson. Down 2-1 with under a minute to go, new coach John Hynes pulled Schneider for the extra attacker. With twenty-one seconds remaining, Kyle Palmieri ripped a one-timer from the half wall, putting it far side past Condon. Going into overtime for the second consecutive night, John Moore completed the Devils come back, receiving a nice feed from Adam Henrique, he pounced on his own rebound to put it over Condon's left pad.

Alex Galchenyuk extend his point streak to five games (five goals, two assists), making it his longest point streak in his career. Canadiens winger Christian Thomas made his season debut on a line with center Brian Flynn and winger Paul Byron. He recorded three shots on net and played a total of 9:01. Following the game, GM Marc Bergevin re-assigned George "Bud" Holloway to St. Johns after playing his first career game in the NHL. Holloway played 7 minutes and 19 seconds, getting off only one shot on net in his debut.

The Montreal Canadiens play the Columbus Blue Jackets (10-15-0) next at the Bell Centre on December 1st. The Blue Jackets started the season with a (0-8-0) record before replacing head coach Todd Richards by loud mouth John Tortorella. The Jackets are 10-7-0 under Tortorella.

You can catch next game at 7:30 P.M EST on RDS, Fox Sports Ohio and SNE.

Canadiens blow out Rangers, lose Price

Montreal Canadiens - 5        New York Rangers - 1 (F)

New York, New York --

The Canadiens(17-4-2) came into this game with injuries to Gallagher and Mitchell, and left the game with a big W and without Carey Price...The Habs goalkeeper played a stellar two periods before backup Mike Condon took over due to an apparent right leg injury. Price returned from his previous injury last Friday in a 5-3 Montreal win over the Islanders. He played only one other game before this injury. Devante Smith-Pelly recorded a two goal night on the top line in reassurance of injured Brendan Gallagher. Sven Andrighetto also recorded his 1st goal of the season in his second game, while Alex Galchenyuk added a goal and an assist. Tomas Plekanec also had a great night with 3 helpers. Things weren't so bright on the Rangers (16-4-2) side as goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was yanked after allowing a season high 5 goals on 24 shots.

It was a game of quick starts to the periods for Montreal. Recently called up form St. Johns, Sven Andrighetto scored his 1st goal of the season 5 minutes in the game off a rebound in front of the net. Under 3 minutes into the 2nd frame, freshly promoted to the 1st line, Devante Smith-Pelly puts up his second goal of the season as he snapped one blocker side past Lunqvist. With just under 5 minutes to the period, Rangers captain, Ryan McDonagh shoots the puck from the blue line, ricocheting off Nash and behind Price for a Power Play goal. The Habs came into the 3rd period with Mike Condon between the pipes in relief of another injury sustained to Carey Price. It has been reported that he sustained a right leg injury. The Price-less Habs stunned the Rangers, scoring two goals in just 72 seconds to start the period. Smith-Pelly tucked one in close through Lunquivst's legs at 17 seconds and Alex Galchenyuk sniped one glove side 55 seconds later for this 4th of the season. Captain Max Pacioretty added an insult to the injury by recording his 12th of the season on a beautiful feed from Alex Galchenyuk on the Power Play. Forward Alexander Semin also left the game due to a lower-body injury.

Montreal now improves to (2-0-0) versus the Rangers this season. They have won 11 of the past 10 meetings to New York in the regular season. The Rangers loss tonight ended a 9 game home winning streak, their last loss coming October 18th versus the New Jersey Devils in a 2-1 OT loss. Up next, Montreal face the Devils November 27th at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. It will be the first of back to back games versus the newly structured Devils (11-9-1). The Canadiens last played the Devils April 3rd, 2015, losing 3-2. Following the game, coach Michel Therrien announced that Carey Price will not be starting due the leg injury he sustained in tonight's game. Michael Condon will get the nod in goal tomorrow night. Dustin Tokarski, Christian Thomas and Bud Holloway have been recalled from St. John's.

Winter Classic Alumni rosters announced

A few hours ago, this years annual Winter Classic game, between your Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins, alumni rosters have been announced. Legends on both rosters such as Cam Neely, Ray Bourque and Brian Leetch for the Bruins and Larry Robinson, Mats Naslund and Alex Kovalev for the Habs have been welcomed back to play the friendly outdoor game. Don Cherry and Guy Lafleur will be behind the benches. The game will be held in the afternoon of December 31st at the Gillette stadium in New England. The Canadiens last outdoor alumni game took place in 2003, where they faced Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers. The Bruins last played in the 2010 Winter Classic where they hosted the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park. 

Full Rosters

#11 Brendan Gallagher, #67 Max Pacioretty and #76 PK Subban sporting the 2016 Winter Classic jerseys.  (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)

#46 David Krejci, #33 Zedeno Chara and #40 Tuukka Rask showcasing the Boston Bruins 2016 Winter Classic jerseys. (http://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/) 

Prospect Report: Habs Top 10 Prospects

There are a few factors that play a role involving a player’s success after their junior years. These factors include injuries, size, work ethic and attitude.  The Canadiens have a solid group of prospects drafted from the last couple of years, especially the draft of 2013. Here is a ranking list I have strung together of the Montreal Canadiens top young guns that will be making the jump to the NHL in the next couple of years.

1.   Jacob de La Rose (drafted 34th in 13’)

LW/C, 20, St. Johns (AHL) 6-2, 190      Prospect Grade: A-

Hailing from Leksand, Sweden, de La Rose is a defensive-minded forward who can play wing and center.  He is not the fastest skater but has a high hockey IQ and his ability to read the play and cut off passing lanes is exceptional. His smarts have earned him 33 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season. His playing style is valued more in the bottom 9 and the PK, but can easily play in a top 6 role. If it wasn’t for such a deep Montreal depth chart, de La Rose would have been playing with the Habs this season. NHL: 2016-17

Canadiens defeat Islanders in Price's return; Andrighetto recalled

Montreal Canadiens - 5   New York Islanders - 3 (F)

Brooklyn, New York --

Playing their second game in as many nights, Montreal (15-4-2) registered their 15th win of the season in a high-speed, entertaining contest against the New York Islanders (10-7-3). For the first time in two weeks, the Canadiens' Carey Price was between the pipes after suffering from a lower-body injury. Showing no signs of rust, he stopped 33 the 36 New York Islanders shots on goal, earning him the win while posting a .917 SV%. At the other end, goaltending was a different story. After letting in 3 goals on 11 shots, Jaroslav Halak was pulled and replaced by backup goalie Thomas Greiss at the start of the 2nd period, who held his own by stopping 15 of 16 shots.

Montreal jumped on the Islanders right from the get go, scoring 2 minutes and 52 seconds into the game on a goal from Jeff Petry. Alexander Semin recorded an assist on the play, earning him his first point in six games. Going into the 2nd period, the Habs maintained a 3-1 lead. Only 39 seconds into the second frame, from the blue line, Travis Hamonic one-timed the puck glove side past Price to bring his team within one. With 5 minutes remaining to the period, defenseman Jeff Petry netted his second of the game to give his team a two goal lead again. Brock Nelson also added his second goal of the night at 7:25 of the 3rd period, wristing one blocker side. With under 2 minutes remaining to the game, down a goal, Islanders coach Jack Capuano pulls Greiss for an extra attacker. In the dying minute Carey Price shuts the door multiple times, allowing Brendan Gallagher to seal the deal in the empty net.

The New York Islander have now lost both games to Montreal this season, the first one coming on November 5th in a 4-1 loss at the Bell Centre. Next up, the Canadiens face the Islanders again on Sunday, November 22nd, at the Bell Centre for the third time this season, before heading back to New York to face the Rangers and the Devils.

Following the game, Marc Bergevin announced that Swiss prospect Sven Andrighetto has been recalled from the St. John's  Ice Caps of the AHL, while Torrey Mitchell has been placed on IR. Andrighetto has recorded 6 goals and 9 assists, for a total of 15 points in 17 games with St. John's  this season.

#26 Petry, #21 Smith-Pelley, #13 Semin and #28 Beaulieu celebrate an early first period goal against the Islanders in a 5-3 Canadiens victory. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

Carey Price returns to action

After missing gameplay since October 29th due to a lower-body injury, the Canadiens 2015 Vezina trophy winner, Carey Price, returns to action tonight versus the New York Islanders at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In relief of his absence, rookie Mike Condon has played 9 consecutive games, stringing together a 5-2-2 record. Price is 7-2-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .936 SV% after 9 games this season and hopes to improve his record tonight with a win in Brooklyn. As a result of his return, 3rd goalie Dustin Tokarski has been sent back down to the St. Johns Ice Caps of the AHL.

You can watch tonight's game on RDS, SNE and MSG+ at 7:30 EST

  

#31 Carey Price (todaysslapshot.com)