Domi's second goal of the game, scored into an empty net at 19:11, brought little reaction from Price, other than his turning to lift the water bottle off his net to take a swig.
"I was thinking the game's not over yet," he said with a grin. "I was trying to stay focused right to the end. I know … we pretty much had the game in hand at that point. But until the whistle or horn goes, I want to stay focused and enjoy it after."
Amid a bit of a scrum behind the Canadiens net at the final siren, Price muscled in to scoop up the final game puck that he was still holding a half-hour later in the dressing room.
"Yeah, I want this one," he said.
Plante had been the Canadiens' regular-season wins leader since Jan. 2, 1960, his 209th victory, a 30-save, 6-5 victory at the Boston Bruins, lifting him one past boyhood idol Bill Durnan. His final regular-season win for the Canadiens came March 16, 1963, up the road from Bell Centre at the Montreal Forum. As delicious coincidence would have it, Plante's 35-save, 5-3 victory that night came against the Red Wings.
Plante would play four more games that regular season - three ties, then and a 5-0 loss at the New York Rangers to end the schedule. He and the Canadiens would be eliminated 4-1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a Stanley Cup Playoff semifinal.