Team Canada Sochi 2014: Carey Price is the Right Choice vs. Norway
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Frank Doyle
In the end, the goaltending decision to start Carey Price in goal for the Canadian men’s hockey squad against Norway really shouldn’t have been all that difficult.
Steve Yzerman and Mike Babcock told everybody that Price and Roberto Luongo would split the opening two games, so this isn’t a major surprise. However, it is the right decision to give Price the nod in the opening game, which has Canada set as a huge 4.5-goal favorite on the puckline (-159).
This way, Price gets his Olympic debut out of the way immediately. Getting your feet wet in this type of tournament, with the big ice surface, new teammates and a ton of pressure, is extremely important.
“I’m just excited,” Price told reporters. “It’s been a lingering thought, but this whole season I’ve been preparing one game at a time. That doesn’t change once I get here. I’ve been preparing these last two days for this game [Thursday] and I’ll just continue to do the same.”
Price’s numbers speak for themselves. He went into the Olympic break on fire with a 4-1-1 record to go along with a .967 save percentage in his final six games with the Canadiens. He owns a 2.33 goals-against average with four shutouts on the season.
The other thing is that while Price doesn’t have the Olympic experience Luongo has, he does own an 8-2 record and a 1.75 goals-against average on international ice.
Now, with Price in position to get his feet wet against what will likely be an overwhelmed Norwegian squad, it’s a great spot to boost his confidence. Then, Luongo steps in to face Austria in a similar situation and Team Canada has an excellent shot at coming away with two dominant performances in the preliminary games. However, Luongo struggled before the break with a 1-5 record in his last six with a 3.55 GAA and .880 save percentage.
If Luongo bounces back to shut the door in the second game, then the Team Canada brass has its work cut out for it. Do they go with Luongo’s experience from there on, or Price’s potential?
“We’re all here to play for Team Canada,” Luongo told reporters. “It’s not about one player. We’re all pulling on the same rope. It’s a team game right now. It’s not about Roberto Luongo or Carey Price or Mike Smith. It’s about being a part of Team Canada. It doesn’t matter what role you are given, you have to embrace it and accept it.”
Canada is now a +141 favorite to win the gold medal followed by Russia (+241) and Sweden (+514).
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