Price, Elliott Have Nights to Remember

It was a great day for rookie goaltenders making their first career starts yesterday. Montreal's Carey Price stopped 26 shots in a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. On an interesting note, Habs' greats Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy both made their NHL and Habs debuts against the Pens, Roy's debut occurring on the exact same date as Price's. Some critics are saying that Price was not really tested in the game, that many of the shots came from the outside, and that may be true (which it looked like from the clips I saw, plus the first goal was BS), but that means absolutely nothing. He now has one NHL game under his belt, and that's all that matters. He now has a sense that he's made it, expect the real Price to show himself in the next few starts. He is by far the most technical and positional goaltender I have ever witnessed play in my life, and that's saying something. He is very relaxed in net, which he probably showed last night, and it may look like he is slow, but he is not. It's all in an effort to save energy in the butterfly style.

Senator's goaltender Brian Elliot also made his debut last night, and actually fared better than Price. Elliott stopped 27 shots in a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers, and looked good doing it. Elliott was drafted 291st overall in the 2003 entry draft, and was not expected to start for the Sens this soon. He's from Hamilton, like Ray Emery, and was a standout at at the University of Wisconsin. I can't really say too much about him as I haven't seen him play except for what I saw last night. He will most likely be sent to Binghamton of the AHL when Ray Emery comes back, so hopefully I will be able to see him play against the Bulldogs.

Also, if you get the chance, pick up a copy of The Hockey News' "Sixty Moments That Changed the Game" that recently came out. My copy came in the mail today, and let me be the first to say that this is a must-read for any hockey enthusiast out there. Many of the moments happened before my, and most others, time and it is definitely worth the read. Don't worry Professor Prax, there are many pictures ;)