![]() Surely, that collection of precious metals speaks for itself - for his ability to step things up when it mattered.īut Price’s Canadiens and Roy’s were very different teams, to say nothing of the powerhouse Avalanche Roy left Montreal for. An NHL-record three Conn Smythe trophies as playoffs MVP. The main argument for Roy is one of hardware. It’s tempting, comparing their raw stats, to say it outright: Price is better than Roy ever was. 927 save percentage in 2013-14 - a better number than Roy ever managed in his whole career - and wasn’t even in the top three Vezina vote-getters that year. He won three Vezina Trophies from 1989 to 1992 without ever hitting a. The year he won the Stanley Cup as a rookie, 1985-86, Roy’s regular season numbers were a distinctly unremarkable 3.36 goals-against average and a. 920 or greater save percentage in three of those - two of them coming in his final two seasons, playing for an Avalanche team stacked with future Hall-of-Famers in a league where scoring was dropping off the face of a cliff. In a career that spanned 19 seasons, Roy only registered a. Without even watching a second of grainy ‘80s footage, though, a glance at the stats would tell a story of its own. Highlight-reel saves and goals from Roy’s early days now seemed laughably quaint, relics of a bygone era when just about anyone could play in the world’s greatest hockey league. As forwards adapted, goalies had to keep pace as sticks grew more high-tech, goalies had to become faster, smarter and more flexible. Perhaps most saliently, the pure butterfly technique that Roy had been at the forefront of popularizing in the late ‘80s was no longer the revolutionary, game-changing goaltending technique it once was. Lockouts, franchise relocations, rule changes, drafting trends, equipment innovations, and strategic advances had dramatically altered the landscape of the league in a number of different directions. Though Roy was only a few years retired when Price was drafted, the league Price stepped into in October of 2007 was radically different from the one Roy did in February of 1985. But Price always seems to know exactly where he is he orients himself in space without needing to reach out for anything.īut their personality differences aren’t the only reason the two resist easy comparison. Price? He never even seems to acknowledge the posts, unlike some of his more jittery counterparts who go to touch them every other play as a means of reassuring themselves about their positioning. Roy used to talk to his goalposts, thanking them for helping him keep the puck out. When he’s truly on his game, Carey Price resembles a perfectly calibrated goaltending robot, constantly shifting and adapting to the puck’s change in location without a single unnecessary move. They’re making decisions along an athletic axis, but sometimes those decisions get warped, corrupted and skewed by very human reactions. The truth is that athletes are human beings, not robots. How many other goalies in NHL history have requested a trade mid-game? Let alone two-time Stanley Cup champion, multi-Vezina-winning franchise goalies. Regardless, it makes sense to want to look for answers beyond the normal when something abnormal occurs. I’ve heard that Mario Tremblay was punishing Roy by leaving him out there for all those goals. ![]() I heard that he met up with Detroit Red Wings goalie Mike Vernon on the day of the game at a diner across the street from the Forum and they had a conversation about the “unique climate” of Montreal - and Vernon convinced Roy that he needed to get out. Over the years, I’ve heard different stories over the years about Patrick Roy‘s final game as a Canadien. Each iteration will be posted the day after one of the final 10 victories it takes him to pass Jacques Plante as the goalie with the most wins in Canadiens history.Ĭheck out Part 6 here. This is Part 7 of a 10-part series looking back at Price’s career through the lens of various milestone victories he’s recorded. ![]() ![]() Recently, Carey Price won his 312th regular season game as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Price passed the Canadiens legend’s wins total earlier this season.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |