Montreal Canadiens fans feared for the worst when New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider crashed into Montreal goalie Carey Price in Game 1 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals. Those fears were more or less realized Monday morning.
Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien announced following Monday’s morning skate that Price will miss the rest of the series. Price suffered the injury in the second period of the Habs’ 7-2 loss in the series opener. Price played the first two periods and was replaced by Peter Budaj to begin the third.
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Therrien indicated that he knows who will start Game 2 on Monday night, but he would not reveal his decision. The candidates are Budaj — who allowed three goals in the third period in Game 1 — and Dustin Tokarski.
Budaj appeared in 24 games this season for the Canadiens and posted a 10-8-3 record. He had a save percentage of .909 to go along with a 2.51 goals against average. He has some pretty dreadful playoff numbers, though. Including the Game 1 debacle, Budaj has an .843 playoff save percentage for his career and a 5.10 GAA in seven career postseason appearances.
The 24-year-old Tokarski has just 10 career NHL appearances to his name and has never played in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was 2-0 in three games with Montreal this season with a .946 save percentage and a 1.84 goals against.
See the play in which Price was hurt in the video below average.
