When international tournaments take place, often there’s a division amongst hockey fans regarding just how worthwhile these competitions really are. Some believe that it’s nothing less than a money grab for the NHL while others love watching the best players from specific nations go head-to-head. I’ve always maintained that there’s a fear of injuries affecting superstars which can spill over onto the regular season schedule, hindering teams for undetermined periods of time. The World Cup of Hockey has not officially begun yet and big names such as the Dallas Stars’ Tyler Seguin and Chicago Blackhawks’ Marian Hossa are dropping like flies. Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers was helped off the ice last Saturday, and while he did not participate in Wednesday night’s game against Team Russia, he has already taken part of practice drills and is expected to be reinserted into Team Canada’s lineup sooner or later. Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2016 1st overall pick Auston Matthews blocked a shot with his ankle, though he would return shortly thereafter and barely missed a step.
No matter where you stand, however, it’s safe to say that the players are putting in the required efforts to make sure that they come out on top of the 8-team contest. During the pretournament, the intensity has been surprisingly formidable and fans have been treated to physical, fast-paced and high-scoring hockey. Most importantly for Montreal Canadiens fans, their beloved goaltender Carey Price has played in two games- his first in over 9 months following his mysterious knee injury- and looks ready to lead Team Canada to a potential championship if he can manage to find his game.
After letting in 3 goals on 24 shots in his first preseason game, question marks began surrounding the 2014-2015 Vezina and Hart Trophies winner. A .875 save percentage is far below Price’s own expectations and capabilities, but as he so eloquently put it a few years ago during a less-than-stellar preseason schedule: “chill out!…. He began looking more and more like himself in the third period, and got the nod for Wednesday night’s matchup against the Russians. After all, that’s exactly what pre-(anything) games are for; shaking off the cobwebs.
Still, he looked nervous and slower than usual. His uncharacteristic poor rebound control led to the second Russian goal, but he otherwise held down the fort for his Canadian teammates. He handled the puck well despite having a tendency to drop to his knees on shots faster than he normally would, a sure sign of rust. Nevertheless, he delivered the goods and finished the game with 24 saves.
None, of course, better than the one you can watch here:
A closer look at the Carey Price save on Alex Ovechkin#robbery pic.twitter.com/yI2Xtok5AH
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) September 15, 2016
Or this one:
Price makes a great save on Kulikov. Canada looks lost in its own end. pic.twitter.com/AYyjgg52fg
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) September 15, 2016
There’s no doubt that Price will be the number 1 goalie for Team Canada. Despite having missed almost an entire year, he was thrust into quality action resembling that of postseason hockey. While he did not need to look like the absolute superstar hockey fans are accustomed to watching, in all, he did fairly well, and he’s certainly confident that he’ll get the ball rolling Saturday evening when Canada takes on Tomas Plekanec and the Czech Republic.