Carey Price injury update: Timetable lengthened
Sidelined almost two weeks now by a “lower body injury”, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will be out a little bit longer.
When Carey Price was last between the pipes for the Montreal Canadiens, he allowed five goals on 26 shots against the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 2. Something clearly was not right with the 2015 Vezina Trophy winner, with a .877 save percentage and a 3.77 goals against-average over his first 11 games this season.
So it was not a huge surprise when it was reported Price was dealing with a lower body injury. With Al Montoya (concussion) also out, rookie Charlie Lindgren has stepped in and gone 3-1 with a 1.24 GAA and a .964 save percentage.
Price had been expected to return Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes, after missing one more game Tuesday night. But that timeline has been pushed back a little bit further now.
#Habs Price is taking a couple of days off the ice because he says his recovery was stagnating and not progressing the way he wanted, but insists he will be back soon.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) November 14, 2017
#Habs Price says he expected to recover within two weeks, which would have been November 16, but has now been pushed back.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) November 14, 2017
#Habs Price says his injury occurred during pregame warmup on November 2 in Minnesota. He felt fine during the game but not so much when he woke up the next day.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) November 14, 2017
Lindgren will make his fifth straight start Tuesday night. He’ll probably make his sixth straight start Thursday night, as the Canadiens ride the hot hand and try to keep turning things around after a slow start. But a healthy reinforcement, if you can call it that, has been added.
According to multiple reports, the Canadiens have claimed Antti Niemi off waivers. He was waived by the Florida Panthers on Monday, and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 23, with a 6.74 GAA and a .814 save percentage over five combined appearances this season.
With a lack of healthy experienced goaltenders right now, Niemi looks like insurance for Montreal as long as Lindgren is playing well and Price is out. General manager Marc Bergevin did hint that Niemi could stick around though, with Lindgren’s development in mind and a lack of playing time available for him when Price returns.
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With vague NHL designations in mind, Canadiens coach Claude Julien made it clear Price is not dealing with the same knee issue that cost him most of the 2015-16 season. Price even said if it were the playoffs he would be playing, but further lengthening his absence due to a supposedly minor injury is a red flag that only got brighter with the follow-up by the team to add Niemi.