Can Price "Carey" the Habs Into the Playoffs?

Carey Price stopping pucks against Boston

Right now the Montreal Canadiens sit on top of the East Conference of the NHL.  This has to be a surprise to most hockey fans, even the ones who live in Montreal.  The Canadiens have very little offensive output with their very lackluster roster of players.  Their offense relies on Plekanec, Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, Markov, Diaz, and Subban to score the majority of their goals.  None of these names are considered to be one of the elite goal scorers of the game.  Montreal also does not boast the strongest system of prospects in the NHL either.  It seemed as though only dark days were in the future of the Montreal Canadiens as a hockey club.

One man gives the fans of Montreal the hope and excitement that their team will be good for years to come: Carey Price.  The once maligned goalie who was vastly unpopular in his early years with the team has truly made strides to become one of the most elite goalies in the game.  When Halak put on a sensational performance on his way to taking the Habs to the East Conference Finals, everyone in Montreal was all for dumping Price and sticking with the Slovakian net minder going into their future.  Rather than make the popular PR more, the Canadiens' GM made the right move and traded Halak to St. Louis for Lars Eller.  No disrespect to the very talented Jaroslav Halak, but Price is definitely the better of the two goalies.

So far on the year, Carey Price is boasting by far his best career numbers sporting a solid 9-3 record, 92.5% save percentage, 1.98 goals against average, and a shutout.  These numbers have been inflated by a 6-0 loss to Toronto.  Without that game in his stat column he has a 9-2 record, 93.9% save percentage, 1.60 goals against average, and a shutout.  These are truly astounding numbers, especially on such a weak team.  He has little help in front of him both offensively and defensively.  Carey Price is not overachieving; he is this good.  We are seeing all the potential and all the talent Carey possesses finally all being put together.  He is definitely capable of carrying the team on his back, but at what point does he breakdown from fatigue. As the season goes on, games will get more important.  The Canadiens will start playing him on back to back nights and long road trips.  He could be capable of playing in top form all season long and through the playoffs, or he could get fatigued and break down.

Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings had to be his team's MVP last year on their way to a Stanley Cup win.  He was the only reason the Kings squeaked into the playoffs, and he was even more dominant when his team got to the postseason.  Carey Price will have to be this guy for the Habs to be a contender.  He will really have to be on his A game every single night to carry his team to a playoff birth.  If they sneak into the playoffs, they could be a very scary team.  Let's not forget it was Carey Price and the Canadiens that went into game 7 overtime against the Boston Bruins the year that Boston won the cup.  I personally am shocked that Montreal is sitting on top of the east.  However, so long as Carey continues to play the way he has thus far, the Habs will have a good year and a bright future moving forward.