The Montreal Canadiens have announced that goaltender Carey Price will not travel with the team to New Jersey due to the Flu. Cayden Primeau has been recalled from Laval on an emergency basis and will serve as the back-up to Charlie Lindgren tomorrow.
The Canadiens have recalled goaltender Cayden Primeau from the AHL’s Laval Rocket (emergency recall). He will join the team tonight in New Jersey.
Carey Price (illness/flu) did not make the trip.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/xVLMIGnner
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 3, 2020
Carey Price Becomes the Next Victim of Habs Flu Bug
Price has started 44 games this season for the Canadiens. He has a 22-18-4 record with a 2.75 goals-against average and .911 save percentage and three shutouts. He has won two of his past three starts.
The 2015 Vezina winner has spent his entire career in Montreal putting up a record of 343-243-72 with a career 2.48 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. He has 47 career shutouts which are third-most in Canadiens history. Price was originally drafted fifth overall by the Habs in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. His best season came during the 2014-15 campaign when he won the Hart, Vezina, and Lindsay awards. He won 44 games that year along with nine shutouts.
What This Means for Montreal
With Price not traveling with the team, Charlie Lindgren will get the start tomorrow night vs New Jersey Devils. Lindgren has lost all three games that he has started this season. He has 3.40 goals-against average and .892 save percentage over those three games. The 26-year-old netminder was recalled from Laval on December 15th as the Habs opted to send Primeau down to Laval. Montreal is 2-5-3 in games that Price has not started. Price will look to get back between the pipes on Thursday vs Anaheim Ducks.
Earlier in the day Montreal also recalled defencemen Christian Folin from Laval. Folin has played in five games this year and has recorded one assist over the course of those five games. The Folin call-up was a precautionary move with the flu bug going around the Canadiens locker room.
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