Hartley Miller's Slap Shots - December 17th, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010 03:45 AM
Score one for the Habs; at least, for the time being. In the off season, when the Montreal Canadiens decided to trade goalie Jaroslav Halak to the St Louis Blues and keep Carey Price there was an outcry from many Canadiens’ supporters.
At that time, the move was almost unthinkable considering Halak practically carried the team to the Eastern Conference final in the spring with massive upset victories over Washington and Pittsburgh. It was clear, two was considered a crowd in the crease in Montreal, especially with a pair of young top notch goalies craving the ice time of a starter, so one had to leave.
At that time, the move was almost unthinkable considering Halak practically carried the team to the Eastern Conference final in the spring with massive upset victories over Washington and Pittsburgh. It was clear, two was considered a crowd in the crease in Montreal, especially with a pair of young top notch goalies craving the ice time of a starter, so one had to leave.
Price’s talent was not questioned; but what the issue was- could he play in the hockey Mecca of Montreal with that enormous pressure? The team’s 5th overall pick in the 2005 NHL entry draft was booed last season when he was named third star of a home 2-1 loss against Carolina a trend that continued into the first exhibition game this season when he gave up a soft goal against Boston. In fact, some fans were obnoxious and ruthless toward the 6’3, 219 pound 23 year-old.
Why did Price receive so much heat? Who knows? Maybe he was being compared to Halak, and his playoff run which was remarkable, but not reasonable to repeat in the long run.
Well, the critics have been silenced, for the moment anyway. Price has been the second best goalie in the league this season behind Boston’s resurgent Tim Thomas. Clearly he has outperformed Halak, who is getting his lion’s share of the work with the Blues.
The statistics (prior to Thursday’s action) clearly favor the native of Anahim Lake, B.C. in all key areas. Price has a better record, 17-9-2 compared to Halak’s 12-8-4. Halak has an impressive three shutouts, but Price is sitting with four goose eggs.
However, one could argue that Price plays with a better team. Perhaps, but it really isn’t close in a couple of key categories that all goalies use as a gauge regardless of how strong the team is in front of them. Price has a goals against average of 2.07 while Halak sits at 2.31. When analyzing the all important save percentage, the Price is right as Carey is number four in the NHL with a .931 mark while Halak is 21st at .914.
Through no fault of his own, Price’s career will be always be compared to Halak’s. It’s like Phil Kessel with Toronto will always be linked with Boston’s Tyler Seguin (plus a first and a second round pick).
The Leafs decided to trade for Kessel and gave up three highly regarded prospects. The Habs made a choice to deal Halak and stick with Price through thick and thin. So far, so good, as the Canadiens are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference while the Blues flirt as a bubble playoff team in the West.|
The Leafs decided to trade for Kessel and gave up three highly regarded prospects. The Habs made a choice to deal Halak and stick with Price through thick and thin. So far, so good, as the Canadiens are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference while the Blues flirt as a bubble playoff team in the West.|
This should be a very merry Christmas for Price and his family. Enjoy the moment Carey, because when one plays the highest profile position in Montreal, things can change in a hurry. Maybe, Price has built up enough respect now that he can get away with an odd bad goal or bad game. But for his sake, he better not make it two.
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Not to harp on a subject that refuses to go away, the Prince George Cougars are averaging 2,096 fans through 16 home dates. That number includes 5,095 on opening night when many free tickets were given away. This average drops to 1,896, a stat that does not include that first game.
The last two home games, which were played on a Tuesday night, announced crowds at CN Centre were 1,663 (against Saskatoon) and a record low 1,535 (vs Swift Current).
Yes, there should be a good crowd for Teddy Bear toss night Saturday, the second game of the doubleheader against Kamloops, but as I have stated previously, fans have made their concerns known by not attending games despite the Cougars improved play this season.
It is not for me to agree or disagree with the stance taken by the public but these numbers send a
clear message to Cougars’ management and ownership. Sometimes silence can be powerful.
clear message to Cougars’ management and ownership. Sometimes silence can be powerful.
From the Quote Rack:
Minneapolis crews are working frantically to see how long it will take to repair their aging structure and have it NFL ready as soon as possible. And besides Brett Favre, they are hoping to fix the Metrodome too.
Despite the delay of the Vikings-Giants game, Brett Favre still had to end his consecutive game
streak Monday night. And God responded “You mean I collapsed that roof for nothing?”
Brett Favre's string of 297 straight starts has ended. His continuous passing streak, however, ended when Deanna heard about those texts to Jenn Sterger.
Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California (www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com)
Despite the delay of the Vikings-Giants game, Brett Favre still had to end his consecutive game
streak Monday night. And God responded “You mean I collapsed that roof for nothing?”
Brett Favre's string of 297 straight starts has ended. His continuous passing streak, however, ended when Deanna heard about those texts to Jenn Sterger.
Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California (www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com)
Brett Favre did not start Monday, so his consecutive game streak stopped at 297. "Four" is not only the number on his jersey, but it's also his favorite type of skin to text a photo of to your girlfriend.
The Vikings-Giants NFL game was played in Detroit after being moved from Minnesota. Detroit Lions fans were excited about the prospect of seeing professional football.Comedy writer Jerry Perisho http://monologuewriter.blogspot.com/
The Bears and Vikings are expected to play at the University of Minnesota Monday night. It all depends on how fast BP can raise and transport the containment dome it tried to stop the leak with last summer.
Rust-eating bacteria is apparently attacking the wreck of the Titanic. As a result, doctors have prescribed antibiotics for Randy Moss.
So who inspired New York Jets strength coach Sal Alosi to do what he did on Sunday? Darrell Waltrip?
Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
This New York Jets tripping incident gets worse by the day. Now the league has a film of the Jets inactive players practicing the hokey pokey.
So I read that more and more athletes are trade marking their catch phrases. Darrell Revis has "Revis Island." Michael Strahan with "Stomp You Out" and Manny Ramirez has "Manny Being Manny”. And now Brett Favre hopes to register "Point, Shoot, Click."
Comedy writer Marc Ragovin of New York
Two people were stabbed in a huge Rose Bowl parking lot brawl before the Southern Cal-UCLA game. Anyone know if O.J. is getting weekend passes?
Vancouver comedy writer Torben Rolfsen
And the winner of the Campbell Award for college football's top scholar-athlete this season is ... Texas defensive end Sam Acho. Which is certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sidelinechatter/
Mike Tyson told Larry King Live he has 2,500 pigeons. Or as the New York Islanders call them, season ticket holders.
A new study by Dunkin' Donuts has found that the first thing most people do with gingerbread men is bite their head off. They're calling it the Brian Burke response. www.Sportsdeke.com
A report in a science journal says sponges may have animal like characteristics. The report says they looked at sponges off the Pacific Coast, Atlantic Coast and from NBA entourages in the West Coast.
Sepp Blatter president of world football's governing body, said that gay fans "should refrain from any sexual activities" during the tournament in Qatar, where homosexual behavior is illegal. This means gay fans of European football should try to score as much as most teams during the games.
Contributor Derek Wilken of Calgary (http://smacksport.blogspot.com/)
And in case you missed it:
There is a push for the Federal Government to get rid of the penny. The news does not sit well with CFL players, who now have to find an alternate way to match funds for their pension.
Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the PG Free Press. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to hmiller@94xfm.com.
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