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Two questions about Price's play


Peter Puck

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All year long Price has handled the puck with supreme confidence, maybe even over confidence.

Every couple of games he has a pass intercepted while he is still behind the net (although I

think he has been better in the past month or so). My first question is:

1. Has there been any goal against directly resulting from Price mishandling the puck?

I have watched every game this year and the closest thing I can remember is the delay of

game penalty yesterday against the Canuks (which i don't really feel was so bad).

My 2nd question is:

2. Have we had a loss this year attributable to Price letting in one or more weak goals?

Again, I don't think this has happened.

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All year long Price has handled the puck with supreme confidence, maybe even over confidence.

Every couple of games he has a pass intercepted while he is still behind the net (although I

think he has been better in the past month or so). My first question is:

1. Has there been any goal against directly resulting from Price mishandling the puck?

I have watched every game this year and the closest thing I can remember is the delay of

game penalty yesterday against the Canuks (which i don't really feel was so bad).

My 2nd question is:

2. Have we had a loss this year attributable to Price letting in one or more weak goals?

Again, I don't think this has happened.

I didn't see the game, but the general consensus was that Price let in 2 softies in the last EDM game. In any case, his rare blunders have hardly cost the Habs any games, and his play has kept them in most.

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I didn't see the game, but the general consensus was that Price let in 2 softies in the last EDM game. In any case, his rare blunders have hardly cost the Habs any games, and his play has kept them in most.

I would say one was a softie, the other was a shot from the direct slot with a defender in the crease.

I am sure Price has let in bad goals and those goals may have been the difference, but I don't really recall a game where you could lay it on him.

That being said, I don't think you could really lay a lot of the losses on him last season either. Wins are a team stat. If you don't get any goal support or your defense

plays poorly it doesn't matter how well you play.

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I would say one was a softie, the other was a shot from the direct slot with a defender in the crease.

I am sure Price has let in bad goals and those goals may have been the difference, but I don't really recall a game where you could lay it on him.

That being said, I don't think you could really lay a lot of the losses on him last season either. Wins are a team stat. If you don't get any goal support or your defense

plays poorly it doesn't matter how well you play.

It is true that wins are a team stat but it is also true that a goalie having a bad game can lead to a team loss.

This happened to Price a few times last season. I don't think it has happened this year even once.

On the other hand we have seen a number of games where his excellent play has preserved a win.

This really shows what a good year he is having.

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It is true that wins are a team stat but it is also true that a goalie having a bad game can lead to a team loss.

This happened to Price a few times last season. I don't think it has happened this year even once.

On the other hand we have seen a number of games where his excellent play has preserved a win.

This really shows what a good year he is having.

A goalie having a bad game can lead to a loss, but one bad goal in a 2-1 loss can't be pinned on the goaltender. When you score 2 goals or less as a team the frequency of a goaltender win plummets.

Price lost 25 games last season. In 21 of those games the Habs scored 2 goals or less. Halak's record in games with 2 goals or less was 3-14.

The problem is scapegoating. If the Canadiens lose a 2-1 game and the winning goal is a slapshot from the point that handcuffs the goaltender the fan blames the goaltender. If in that same game the team goes 0 for 8 on the PP and Plekanec and Gionta miss breakaways and Markov misses an open net who gets the blame? The goaltender.

Now in the same situation where Price gives up 2 goals and the same shot handcuffs him, BUT they go 3 for 8 on the PP does anybody remember the bad goal? Does he now get the credit? Or do we talk about the 3 for 8 on the PP? The likely narrative ignores Price in entirety.

I can't recall Price playing so terrible that he was directly responsible for a loss over the last couple of seasons. Did he give up bad goals? Yes, every goalie does. Was he blamed for losses last season, most definitely, but that is based on scapegoating and analyzing the result and not the actions.

Blame is how we get to the point of "the team plays harder in front of Halak" or "Halak knows how to win close games". Neither can be quantified and winning close games is not a goaltending skill. A goaltender can stop 30 shots in OT and lose because his team couldn't score and only took 15 shots. This type of mindset leads to people wanting to trade Carey Price last summer.

Teams are winning with absolute stiffs in goal. The Finals was Leighton VS Niemi. It's a team game with 3-400 individual events per game. A goaltender has to be atrocious to be responsible for a loss.

Edited by Wamsley01
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