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Is it already time to panic about Carey Price?

Carey Price

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price keeps his eye on the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Montreal, Thursday, March 26, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Ryan Remiorz)

AP

The most important thing to remember - even if it slightly defeats the point of this exercise - is that none of this really matters. After all, Carey Price’s actual numbers are just the same as every other goalie in the regular season: zeroes across the board.

But that being said, there are two other things to note: 1) this is the preseason and everyone needs something to discuss and 2) this is Montreal, after all.

Many blogs and writers were asking Habs fans to take it easy on Price after the first ugly preseason performance - heck, the Montreal Canadiens and Price himself asked for a little relief - but what about TWO wholly irrelevant but BAD games? Price allowed four goals on only 10 shots in 30 minutes played in the first game against the Boston Bruins while he allowed six goals on 30 shots in a full game last night.

In other words, in two games Price allowed 10 goals on 40 shots. You can have a lot of fun with small sample numbers with this situation. “Price’s save percentage is only 75!” ... “That’s a 7.00 GAA!” ... “The sky is clearly falling!”

So, is it time to panic in Montreal? Well, it shouldn’t be; after all, it could be worse. Price’s knee could be torn apart like Minnesota Wild backup Josh Harding’s knee. Some people already claimed there was a goalie controversy on Wednesday, so there will be some who throw Price under the bus right now.

The truth is probably somewhere in between. The sky isn’t falling, but I wouldn’t exactly rush out to buy a Carey Price jersey either. Any goalie following up Jaroslav Halak’s playoff performance would have to feel the pressure. This being in hockey-obsessed (and netminder killing) Montreal makes it that much worse. Surely Price’s confidence would benefit from a solid preseason performance, whether these exhibitions are truly important or not, but his time is running out.

What do you think? Should the Habs be worried already? Does Price deserve 100 percent confidence? Let us know in the comments.