Montreal Canadiens Must Rise to Carey Price's Elite Level to Further Advance

The proverbial ghosts of Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante won't formally be banished until the Montreal Canadiens win another Stanley Cup. 

The last Canadiens team, not to mention any Canadian team, to win the Stanley Cup was 1993 when Roy led an underdog club to banner No. 24 against Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. Twenty-two years between Stanley Cups would once have been as laughable in Montreal as a Youppi! performance act at a Habs or Expos game. 

As Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber, a former Montreal Gazette reporter, noted: Canadiens championships were once so commonplace that former Mayor Jean Drapeau would simply state that the parades would be "along the usual route."

Jana Chytilova/Getty Images

Price moved the Canadiens a step closer to that long-delayed next parade with one of the best playoff goaltending performances in recent memory, a 43-save shutout in a 2-0 Game 6 victory over the Ottawa Senators. It was the first time the Senators were shut out all season. 

Montreal moves on to play the winner of the Tampa Bay-Detroit series, and one thing probably has to happen if the Habs are to play for an Eastern Conference title: Price will need more help.

Let's face it, the Canadiens were outplayed for large portions of Game 6. They were outshot 43-20 and got a huge break when referee Chris Lee prematurely blew his whistle in the second period on a sequence that should have allowed for a Jean-Gabriel Pageau goal. Price never had full control of a puck that fell to the ice and was put back in by Pageau. But once a referee blows the whistle, as Lee did, it can't be overturned by video review.

Montreal scored only four goals in regulation in the final four games of the series—with one being an empty-netter Sunday. The Habs simply will need more scoring from guys such as Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec in the next round.

Brendan Gallagher's goal stood up for Price, who was just brilliant. Price not only had to make tough saves, he had to withstand tackle-football situations on the follow-ups to most every save in the final two periods. Ottawa crashed the net in the most literal of terms, especially in the final three minutes when Ottawa went on the power play and also pulled Craig Anderson for the extra skater.

Price's play was reminiscent of some of Roy's great postseason performances for Montreal, refusing to allow his team to lose in a hostile situation. Gallagher's somewhat fluky goal on Anderson gave him the game-winner, which he summed up afterward:

"

Brendan Gallagher with the series winning goal for #Habs #cbcmtl pic.twitter.com/yrwL2yhQEC

— Douglas Gelevan (@DGelevan) April 27, 2015"

About that disallowed goal for Pageau: No doubt the Ottawa papers will be full of venom over Lee's premature whistle, but that's hockey. Until instant replay challenges are introduced, these things will happen. It's a fast game, and teams have to overcome at least one bad call in any game to win. The media was quick to ridicule Lee after the play:

"

Whistled too quickly. Sens have right to be angry there. Puck was still loose

— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) April 26, 2015"

But as analyst Ray Ferraro smartly pointed out:

"

That is a fast whistle, unfortunately for Sens referee is on other side of the net and Price .. No way for him to know .. Terrible break

— Ray Ferraro (@rayferrarotsn) April 26, 2015"

Kerry Fraser, the longtime former NHL referee, had the final word:

"

From Chris Lee's position and Carey Price's posture the referee would not suspect that the puck was loose.

— Kerry Fraser (@kfraserthecall) April 26, 2015"

The Canadiens' lack of finish toward end of the series is a concern, as noted by longtime Montreal Gazette columnist Jack Todd:

"

Habs have had 3 or 4 point-blank chances they should have buried. Upping the alcohol consumption back in Montreal.

— Jack Todd (@jacktodd46) April 27, 2015"

That's the bottom line: The Habs need to be better to get that next Cup back on Canadian soil after 22 years. You know Price, the presumptive Hart and Vezina winner, will continue to be good. But one man alone can't win a Stanley Cup. Then again...