Here’s SI.com Allan Muir’s take on the Northeast division and what it will take for the Canadiens to win not only the Eastern conference but go further into the playoffs:
Montreal Canadiens
Is this Price right?
A tidy $1.6 million. That’s the sum total that GM Bob Gainey has invested in his sophomore goaltending duo of Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak, less than half the gold Toronto used to honor Jeff Finger. Considering what’s at stake this season — Stanley Cup or bust during the team’s centennial celebration — it’s a bold move ameliorated not one bit by the signing of veteran Marc Denis to be the team’s third stopper.
If all goes according to plan, it’ll be Price carrying the Habs to glory. But is he ready to tote that kind of weight? He wasn’t last season…at least, not when it mattered. He was wildly uneven against the Bruins in the first round, twice shutting them out and twice giving up five goals in the final four games of that series. He followed that up by watching 15 pucks sail by him on just 89 shots in four games against the Flyers, his glove hand and positioning exploited mercilessly by Philly’s snipers.
But that was what it was: a rookie, one who’d played up to his paper and then some all season long, finally starting to act his age in the playoffs. Price failed to live up to the freshmen legacies of Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden. So what? That doesn’t detract from his potential. Pushed by Halak, he should establish himself as an elite stopper this year, just a rung below Martin Brodeur, Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo. And if Price delivers, the Habs will contend for the Eastern Conference title — the postseason edition — this time.