Carey Price is under fire in Montreal, not that he hasn't been since Pierre Gauthier shipped Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues this summer. Price has readily accepted the challenge for most of his 36 starts, but the last ten have seen him struggle mightily, and it's been a struggle that seems to be getting tougher with each game.
Is the mid-season funk a pattern for Price?
Last season, he was the team's number one goalie for the first two months. Albeit, most that time was spent fighting off Jaroslav Halak from stealing his job. Four straight losses between December 10th and 17th was the straw that seemingly broke the camel's back. Price had a shot at redemption in January, after riding the bench between December 17th and the 30th. He came back with two straight losses and was relegated to a back-up position for the rest of the season.
The season before (the Centennial massacre as I like to refer to it), Price was sensational to start. He had 11 wins before he hit December, and didn't lose a game in regulation that month. Nonetheless, after going 5-0-2 in December, he suffered an ankle injury and returned to the lineup in late January, struggling mightily from that point forward. From January 20th to March 6th he had two wins and 11 losses.
In his first NHL campaign, he went 3-5-2 between December and January, before taking the puck from Cristobal Huet and running with it down the stretch, helping the Canadiens clinch the Eastern Conference.
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Price's struggles can't continue much longer if the Canadiens hope to tread water through January. Between now and the All-Star break, which is scheduled for the 29th and 30th of January, Price faces stiff competition:
The Penguins and the Rangers will both play the Habs twice over the next 5 games, while the Bruins will meet them in between.
After that, the Flames are in town before the Habs leave for a short road-trip to Buffalo and Ottawa. Then it's the emotional return of Saku Koivu, as his Ducks (with Max Lapierre) come to town before the Canadiens get back on the road to finish things off in Philadelphia.
A reversal for Price and his teammates would be a
significant confidence boost considering the quality of competition, and set them up nicely down the stretch as games become more intense.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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