The Montreal Canadiens have just announced they are shutting down goaltender Carey Price and defenseman P.K. Subban for the remainder of the year. This comes amidst speculation that Price would see some action by the end of the season. There really is no reason to get Price into a game now, so I think the Canadiens are making the right and obvious play here.
The elephant in the room is of course, 'What to do about the World Cup of Hockey in September?'
Price is slated to be Team Canada's starter after his impressive Olympics in Sochi, but if he isn't healthy enough to play at all this season for the Canadiens, the team who pays him all that money and depends on him to be their best and most valuable player, I don't see how Price can possibly accept an invite to Team Canada in good faith.
We all saw what happened to the Canadiens this season without Price. Price and the Habs owe it to their fans to have Carey arrive in camp with a clean bill of health. The World Cup is a great experience for sure, but let it be Braden Holtby's experience this time around.
What say you?
The MatchUp Cup Champion For April 6th is... The MatchUp Cup Predicts the Winners Based on the Results of the Last Two Seasons In HEAD TO HEAD Games. This season is weighted over last season should there be a tie First Round> Eastern Conference Flyers over Capitals in 7 (Flyers have won 5 of 8, including 2 of the last 3) Penguins over Rangers in 5 (over last 2 seasons the teams have split, but the Penguins have won the last three) Panthers over Islanders in 6 (Panthers have won 4 of 6, 3 of 4 this season.) Lightning over Red Wings in 6 (Tampa has won 5 of 8, including the last two decidedly.)
Western Conference Ducks over Predators in 7 (Ducks have won 4 of 6 over the last two season, Preds won 2 of 3 this season, but all three games were played before American thanksgiving when Anaheim was struggling) Sharks over the Kings in 7 (The teams have split the 10 games over the last two seasons, but this year the Sharks have won 3 of 5, outscoring LA 18-13. The Sharks put up 5 goals in each of their games in the Staple Center.) Stars over Wild in 6 (The teams have split the 10 games evenly over two years, but this year the Stars hold the edge winning 4 of 5...although 3 were OT victories.) Blues over Blackhawks in 7* (*As of this writing the Blues have won 5 of 9, however these teams play once more prior to the playoffs...tomorrow night. If Chicago were to win that game they would tie the two year record at 5 a piece, but they would win this season's matchups 3-2)
The Second Round. The Eastern Conference Semi-Finals Flyers over Penguins in 7* (This could also change. Currently the Flyers have won 4 of the 7 over the last years. These teams play on Saturday. If the Penguins win that game the it would be tied 4-4, and considering the Penguins would have won all 4 games this season they would be the winner.) Panthers over Lightning in 6 (The Panthers have won 5 of 9, including 4 of 5 this season)
The Western Conference Semi-Finals Sharks over Ducks in 7 (The Sharks have won 5 of 9 over the last two seasons) Blues over Stars in 6 (The Blues have won 7 of 10, including 4 of 5 this season)
The Conference Finals.
Panthers over Flyers in 6 (The Panthers have won 4 of the last 6 over two years, 2 of 3 this season) Sharks over Blues in 7 (These teams have split 3-3 over the past two years, but San Jose took 2 of 3 this year, winning both in St Louis.)
The Stanley Cup Final Sharks over Panthers in 7 (Teams have split 4 games over 2 years, but the Sharks won both this season)
MatchUp Stanley Cup Champion for April 6th: The San Jose Sharks.
We will discuss all this and more on the show today at 1pm. Today we will be joined buy Kevin Allen to discuss the big Red Wings/Flyers showdown..