Wheeler, Price and Faksa Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

NEW YORK – Winnipeg Jets right wing Blake Wheeler, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price and Dallas Stars center Radek Faksa have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Dec. 3.

FIRST STAR – BLAKE WHEELER, RW, WINNIPEG JETS

Wheeler led the NHL with 2-8—10, including a trio of three-point performances, in four contests to propel the Jets (17-6-4, 38 points) to a 3-0-1 week and the top of the Western Conference standings. He recorded 1-2—3 in a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild Nov. 27. After being held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche Nov. 29, Wheeler bounced back with three assists in a 7-4 win against the Vegas Golden Knights Dec. 1. He then capped the week with 1-3—4, his League-leading third four-point effort of the season, in a 5-0 triumph over the Ottawa Senators Dec. 3. The 31-year-old Plymouth, Minn., native paces the NHL with 28 assists and ranks fourth in the League with 35 points through 27 games this season.

SECOND STAR – CAREY PRICE, G, MONTREAL CANADIENS

Price went 4-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .950 save percentage to help the Canadiens (13-12-3, 29 points) post a perfect week and extend their win streak to five games overall. He yielded one goal in each of his first two outings, making 37 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Nov. 27 and 27 stops in a 2-1 triumph against the Ottawa Senators Nov. 29. Price then earned consecutive wins against the Detroit Red Wings, recording 28 saves in a 6-3 victory Nov. 30 and 22 stops in a 10-1 triumph Dec. 2. The 30-year-old Anahim Lake, B.C., native – who has won all five of his starts since returning from injury Nov. 25 – is 8-7-1 in 16 appearances this season (2.93 GAA, .905 SV%, 1 SO).

THIRD STAR – RADEK FAKSA, C, DALLAS STARS

Faksa registered a League-best five goals (5-2—7) and +7 rating (tied) in four games to power the Stars (16-10-1, 33 points) to a 4-0-0 week. He scored his first career hat trick, with all three goals coming in a 6:46 span of the second period, in a 3-0 triumph over the Vegas Golden Knights Nov. 28. Faksa then posted 1-1—2, his fifth multi-point outing of the season, in 4-3 overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks Nov. 30. He added one goal in a 3-2 shootout win over the Blackhawks Dec. 2 and one assist in a 7‑2 triumph against the Colorado Avalanche Dec. 3. The 23-year-old Vitkov, Czech Republic, native ranks fifth on the Stars with 10-6—16 in 26 contests this season.

Carey Price signs eight-year extension with Canadiens

Carey Price signed an eight-year contract extension with the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. Financial terms were not released, but TSN reported that it has an average annual value of $10.5 million.

The 29-year-old goaltender could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Sunday was the second day he was eligible to sign an extension.

Price, who turns 30 on Aug. 16, has one season at $6.5 million remaining on a six-year contract he signed July 2, 2012. He becomes the highest-paid goaltender in the NHL, surpassing Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, whose contract has an average annual value of $8.5 million, according to CapFriendly.com.

Price was tied for sixth in the NHL with a .923 save percentage last season. He was tied for fifth with a 2.23 goals-against average and 37 wins, and finished third in voting for the Vezina Trophy behind Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Price won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Vezina in 2015. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, Price is first in the NHL in save percentage (.929) and GAA (2.09) in 140 games.

He also helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and World Cup of Hockey 2016.

Price is 270-175-55 in 509 NHL games, all with Montreal. His 270 wins are third in Canadiens history, 19 behind Patrick Roy (289) and 44 behind Jacques Plante (314). Price is in fourth with 39 shutouts.

Price, McDonagh, Crawford named our 'Three Stars of the Night'

NEW YORK – UNB! Network NHL/hockey blog 'The Neutral Zone' has named Carey Price, Ryan McDonagh, and Corey Crawford as their 'Theee Stars of the Night' for the National Hockey League games taking place on March 12, 2017.

FIRST STAR - CAREY PRICE, G, MONTREAL CANADIENS

Price extended his personal win streak to six games (0.99 GAA, .964 SV%, 1 SO), as the Canadiens improved to 7-1-0 in their last eight games.

SECOND STAR - RYAN McDONAGH, D, NEW YORK RANGERS

McDonagh registered the second multi-goal game of his NHL career to lead the Rangers to their League-leading 25th road win of 2016-17.

THIRD STAR - COREY CRAWFORD, G, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Corey Crawford of the @NHLBlackhawks made a season-high 42 saves to improve to 9-3-0 in his last 12 appearances (2.50 GAA, .922 SV%).

Lundqvist, Ho-Sang, Price named our 'Three Stars of the Night'

NEW YORK – UNB! Network NHL/hockey blog 'The Neutral Zone' has named Henrik Lundqvist, Joshua Ho-Sang, and Carey Price as their 'Theee Stars of the Night' for the National Hockey League games taking place on March 7, 2017.

FIRST STAR - HENRIK LUNDQVIST, G, NEW YORK RANGERS

Lundqvist earned his 404th NHL win, passing Grant Fuhr for sole possession of 10th place on the NHL's all-time wins list. Lundqvist has reached the 30-win mark 11 times, joining Martin Brodeur (14) and Patrick Roy (13) as the only goalies to accomplish the feat.

SECOND STAR - JOSHUA HO-SANG, F, NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Ho-Sang scored his first NHL goal as the Islanders kept pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

THIRD STAR - CAREY PRICE, G, MONTREAL CANADIENS

Carey Price made 27 saves as the Canadiens  extended their overall and road win streaks to six and five games, respectively.

Nikita Kucherov leads 3 Stars of the Week

NEW YORK - Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending March 5.

FIRST STAR - NIKITA KUCHEROV, RW, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Kucherov led the NHL with 5-4-9 in four games to power the Lightning (30-26-8, 68 points) to three wins. He opened the week with his second career hat trick and fourth career four-point effort (3-1-4), including the decisive goal, in a 5-1 triumph over the Ottawa Senators Feb. 27. Kucherov then registered 1-2-3, including the primary assist on the overtime winner, in a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes March 1. He added one goal in a 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins March 3 before closing the week with one assist - as well as a highlight-reel goal to clinch the shootout - in a 2-1 triumph over the Buffalo Sabres March 4. The 23-year-old Maykop, Russia, native, who has 7-7-14 during a six-game point streak, ranks in the top 10 in the NHL in goals (t-10th; 28), points (10th; 63), power-play goals (t-3rd; 12) and power-play points (8th; 23) through 57 contests this season.

SECOND STAR - SERGEI BOBROVSKY, G, COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Bobrovsky turned aside 87-of-88 shots, going 2-0-1 with a 0.33 goals-against average, .989 save percentage and two shutouts to guide the Blue Jackets (41-17-6, 88 points) to five out of a possible eight standings points. He made 29 saves in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens Feb. 28. Bobrovsky then posted consecutive shutouts (a first in his NHL career), stopping all 38 shots he faced in a 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild March 2 and all 20 shots he saw in a 3-0 triumph against the New Jersey Devils March 5. The 28-year-old Novokuznetsk, Russia, native has appeared in 51 games this season, ranking in the top five in the League in wins (t-2nd; 34), goals-against average (3rd; 2.09), save percentage (5th; .929) and shutouts (t-4th; 5). His 34 victories are a single-season franchise record, breaking the mark set by Steve Mason in 2008-09 (33 W in 61 GP). 

THIRD STAR - CAREY PRICE, G, MONTREAL CANADIENS

Price went 3-0-0 with a 0.66 goals-against average, .974 save percentage and one shutout to propel the Canadiens (37-21-8, 82 points) to a perfect 4-0-0 week. He earned his 39th career shutout with 26 saves in a 1-0 overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets Feb. 28. Price then allowed only one goal in each of his next two starts, making 24 saves in a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators March 2 and 26 saves in a 4-1 triumph against the New York Rangers March 4. The 29-year-old Anahim Lake, B.C., native owns a 29-16-5 record, 2.31 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and three shutouts in 50 outings this season.

Kane, Price, McDavid named our 'Three Stars of the Night'

NEW YORK – UNB! Network NHL/hockey blog 'The Neutral Zone' has named Patrick Kane, Carey Price, and Connor McDavid as their 'Theee Stars of the Night' for the National Hockey League games taking place on March 4, 2017.

FIRST STAR - PATRICK KANE, F, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

Kane scored twice to propel the Blackhawks past the Wild for first place in the Western Conference. Kane has scored multiple points in 8 of 13 GP since Feb. for the West-leading Blackhawks, to pace all players with 14-7—21 in that span.

SECOND STAR - CAREY PRICE, G, MONTREAL CANADIENS

Price backstopped the Canadiens and improved to 15-5-1 in 22 career regular-season games against the Rangers, including eight straight wins.

THIRD STAR - CONNOR McDAVID, F, EDMONTON OILERS

McDavid (1-1—2) extended his point streak to 5 games (2-5—7) as the Oilers opened an eight-game homestand with a victory.

Crosby, Quick. Price named our 'Three Stars of the Night'

NEW YORK -- UNB! Network NHL/hockey blog 'The Neutral Zone' has named Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Quick, and Carey Price as their 'Theee Stars of the Night' for the National Hockey League games taking place on February 25, 2017.

FIRST STAR - SIDNEY CROSBY, F, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Crosby scored his NHL-leading 34th goal of the season to give the @penguins a 1-0 lead in the first period outdoors at Heinz Field. The 34th goal of the season (54 GP) gets Crosby two shy of his total from 2015-16 (80 GP).

SECOND STAR - JONATHAN QUICK, G, LOS ANGELES KINGS

Quick made 32 saves in his first start since suffering a lower-body injury on opening night to backstop the Kings to a 4-1 victory.

THIRD STAR - CAREY PRICE, G, MONTREAL CANADIENS

Price earned the 259th win of his NHL career (all w/ MTL) to pass Ken Dryden (258) for third on the @CanadiensMTL all-time list.

Medical update - Carey Price not to return to action this season

Press Release from the Canadiens website.

MONTREAL – Canadiens’ general manager Marc Bergevin announced Tuesday that goaltender Carey Price will not return to action this season. The decision was made last night by the Canadiens’ medical staff, head team physician Vincent Lacroix, head orthopedic surgeon Paul Martineau, with Marc Bergevin and Carey Price.

“Now that Carey Price’s season has officially ended, here is a detailed description of his injury: Carey sustained a medial collateral ligament injury (MCL sprain) to his right knee on November 25th, 2015 in a game against the NY Rangers. The MCL provides support to the inside of the knee and is essential for stability and knee function. Acute, isolated MCL injuries are managed without surgery. Rehabilitation treatments lead to full functional recovery. The recovery process can be long in the case of an elite netminder such as Carey, due to the high demand placed on this anatomical structure by modern goaltending techniques. Although Carey has made excellent progress and is very close to being able to return to competition, he has not presently been cleared to do so. He is expected to make a full recovery over the off-season. This injury was not the same as the one he suffered earlier this season (October 29th at Edmonton), nor in previous years,” said the Canadiens’ head physician, Dr. Vincent Lacroix.

The Canadiens also announced that the following players will also be out for the remainder of the season due to injuries: P.K. Subban (neck), Mark Barberio (concussion), Victor Bartley (groin/broken foot) and Lucas Lessio (right knee).

Injury Notebook: Price's return may be soon; Lessio out 2-3 weeks

"The Neutral Zone" Injury Report

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price skated and worked on stickhandling drills Friday before his team practiced. 

According to the NHL website, Price skated with his catching glove, blocker and goalie stick while wearing a track suit. In addition to skating around the ice, he worked on lateral movement in the goal crease, and also worked on puck retrievals behind the goal and clearing passes with a member of the Canadiens training staff.

Price, who was last season's Hart and Vezina trophy winner, has been out since November 25 with a lower-body injury.

In other news for the Canadiens, forward Lucas Lessio has been listed as out for 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury he sustained on February 2 at Philadelphia.

Medical update: Lucas Lessio will be out 2-3 weeks (lower body injury suffered on Feb. 2nd in Philadelphia).

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 5, 2016

Mise à jour médicale: Lucas Lessio sera absent pour une période de 2-3 semaines (blessure au bas du corps subie le 2 février à PHI).

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 5, 2016

Analysis: Who's been the better goaltender in the past three seasons - Lundqvist or Price?

"The Neutral Zone" Analysis Report

NOTE: The stats used in this article are from the 2012-13, 2013-14, and 2014-15 NHL season. No stats from the current NHL season (2015-16) were used in this article.

When you think of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history, you probably think of Martin Brodueur, Mike Richter, Roberto Luongo (active player), and many others.

But let's look at two of the best goalies playing the game today: Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, and Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.

Let's look at their stats:

Henrik Lundqvist

Henrik Lundqvist:

\HEHN-rihk LUHND-kvihst\

Position: G ▪ Catches: Left
Height: 6-1 (185 cm)
Weight: 188 lbs. (85 kg)

Born: March 2, 1982 (Age 33.295) in Are, Sweden  
Draft: NY Rangers, 7th round (205th overall), 2000 NHL Entry








Regular Season (2012-13 - 2014-15):
2012-13: 24 W | 16 L | 3 OT/SO | 1102 SV | .926 SV%
2013-14: 33 W | 24 L | 5 OT/SO | 1666 SV | .920 SV%
2014-15: 30 W | 13 L | 3 OT/SO | 1226 SV | .922 SV%
3 Seasons:  81 W | 53 L | 11 OT/SO | 3994 SV | .922 SV%
**Missed part of 2014-15 regular season due to injury

Playoffs (2012-13 - 2014-15):
2012-13: 5 W | 7 L | 0 OT/SO | 384 SV | .934 SV%
2013-14: 13 W | 11 L | 0 TO/SO | 683 SV | .927 SV%
2014-15: 11 W | 8 L | 0 OT/SO L | 529 SV | .928 SV%
3 Seasons: 29 W | 26 L | 0 OT/SO | 1596 SV | .929 SV%

Carey Price

Carey Price (MTL):
\KAIR-ee PRIGHS\


Position: G ▪ Catches: Left
Height: 6-3 (190 cm)
Weight: 216 lbs. (98 kg)

Born: August 16, 1987 (Age 28.128) in Anahim Lake, British Columbia  
Draft: Montreal, 1st round (5th overall), 2005 NHL Entry 
Amateur Teams: Tri-City Americans 





Regular Season (2012-13 - 2014-15):
2012-13: 21 W | 13 L | 4 OT/SO | 921 SV | .905 SV%
2013-14: 34 W | 20 L | 5 OT/SO | 1694 SV | .927 SV%
2014-15: 44 W | 16 L | 6 OT/SO | 1823 SV | .933 SV%
3 Seasons:  99 W | 54 L | 15 OT/SO | 4438 SV | .927 SV%
**Missed part of 2014-15 regular season due to injury

Playoffs (2012-13 - 2014-15):
2012-13: 1 W | 2 L | 0 OT/SO | 110 SV | .894 SV%
2013-14: 8 W | 4 L | 0 TO/SO | 329 SV | .919 SV%
2014-15: 6 W | 6 L | 0 OT/SO L | 324 SV | .920 SV%
3 Seasons: 15 W | 6 L | 0 OT/SO | 763 SV | .911 SV%

Looking at those statistics, it's hard to tell which goalie has had a better performance, at least in our opinion. Price, who is currently injured, has 444 more regular season saves than Lundqvist in the past three seasons. Price had 4438, while Lundqvist had 3394.

Price also has a better save percentage in the past three regular seasons when combining them. Price's SV% when combining the last three regulars reasons was .927, while Lundqvist's was .922.

But when it comes to the playoffs, Lundqvist may have the advantage. Lundqvist has had 1596 saves in his last three playoff seasons, but Price has only had 763.

Price missed some playoff action in the 2013-14 NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals, where Price was injured in game one, surprisingly against Lundqvist and the New York Rangers. Dustin Tokarsky became the new starting goalie for the Canadiens in that series. The Rangers won the series in six games.

But since that series, the Rangers have had problems against the Canadiens, going 1-4-0 against the Canadiens dating back to the first game the Rangers played against the Canadiens after their victory over them in that Conference Final in 2013-14, which includes three games against the Canadiens in 2014-15, and two games in 2015-16.

Carey Price has been better since after the Conference Final, plus his regular season stats in the last three full seasons than Lundqvist, and it's enough to overshadow Lundqvist's better stats than Price's in the last three playoffs.

Therefore, "The Neutral Zone" has decided that in the last three complete NHL seasons, Carey Price has been better than Henrik Lundqvist.