Carey Price is in his Dominik Hasek zone right now.
The reigning Vezina and Hart Trophy winner has begun this season in a manner that is even more impressive his legendary 2014-15 season. Price posted a sterling 44-16-6 record with 9 shutouts. He finished the regular season with a 1.96 GAA and .933 save percentage.
Price is now 6-0 this season after he and his Habs defeated the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. He may well be on pace to equal or even improve upon his record setting season of 2014-15.
Price now has a .966 save percentage and a microscopic 1.00 GAA. He already has led his team to two shutouts after six starts.
Price has been near perfect while making 176 saves on 182 shots faced.
Did you know that no other team in Montreal Canadiens history has ever started the season with a perfect 7-0 record? Not even the vaunted 1976 Montreal Canadiens.
Against the Blues, Price made 38 saves for his second shutout in his last three games. Final score Habs 3. Blues zip. It was the 26th shutout of Price's brilliant career.
Alex Semin scored his first goal for the Habs. Captain Max Pacioretty and Torrey Mitchell also scored for the Canadiens.
Price was the NHL MVP last season and was voted the NHL's top goalie last season.
Price and the Canadiens will bring their perfect 7-0 record to Buffalo on Friday night.
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While the Montreal Canadiens are now 7-0, the Columbus Blue Jackets are now 0-7.
The Blue Jackets dropped their seventh straight game on Tuesday night losing 4-0 on home ice to John Tavares and the Brooklyn Islanders.
The Jax were 0-for-6 on the power play. They are now the seventh team in NHL history to begin a new season with seven straight regulation losses and the first since the Chicago Blackhawks in 1997-98. The Blue Jackets will play seven of their next eight games on the road.
"This isn't a lack of effort," Columbus defenseman Jack Johnson said. "Guys are trying, I promise you that. Coaches can't play for us. It's 100 percent not on them. Times are tough right now and we have to stay together."
The Blue Jackets have been outscored 21-8 in losing four home games. They have been outscored 37-13 in the seven losses this season.
"It's disappointing in the sense for a good part of the game we played some good hockey, but it wasn't good enough," Columbus coach Todd Richards said. "Right now we need results."
Richards would be wise to update his resume and then print out several copies at Kinko's on Wednesday.
It won't be long until John Tortarella is the next bench boss in Columbus.
Remember when John Davidson worked on the broadcast team for the NY Rangers? Remember when John Tortorella was head coach for the Rangers? Keep and eye on JD and Torts. They still remain close. Torts is focused on coaching Team USA's World Cup team, however, he would accept the Jax head coaching job in a New York minute if it were offered to him.
It sounds like Jax management ate giving the players the opportunity to right their wrongs. Is the head coach Todd Richards immune from getting the axw?
“I still think we have a good team,… Jax GM Kekalainen said Monday. “We have good players in that room. I can’t believe that in nine days we went from being a very good team in a lot of peoples’ books to a team that can’t win a game.…
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Dan Bylsma said after Tuesday's practice that he is balancing and rounding out his steady pairs with a reliable winger.
Samson Reinhart was Buffalo's best player in Saturday's lost at Tampa. Reinhart scored his first NHL goal and vibed perfectly with ROT and Ennis. Reinhart will use the same trio on Wednesday night versus Toronto.
Jamie McGinn olays a robust, physical, in-your-face game. Bylsma must be betting that McGinn plays the role of full back who will open holes for the speedy tail backs Eichel and Kane to explode through.
I have a lot of time for Moulson-Girgensons-Gionta. Zemgus is impressing me at L3 center more so than he did at L2 RW. Zemgus is getting his looks and touches while play a very honest possession game. Gionta's wheels coupled with Moulson's down-low positioning
I love the Deslauriers-Legwand-Foligno line. They play hockey like Hell's Angels ride Harleys. They are tough customers to play against.
I like Larsson as the odd man out.
Reinhart-O'Reilly-Ennis Kane-Eichel-McGinn Moulson-Girgensons-Gionta Deslauriers-Legwand-Foligno, Larsson