In the opening minute, Team Czech Republic forward Ondrej Palat tipped a point shot, and Price calmly kicked out a pad and steered the puck out of harm's way. It was a tremendous save that looked routine, but one that changed the course of a game Team Canada would go on to win 6-0.
"Just a reaction save," Price said after the game. "Just tried to boot one out and it hit me."
Ho hum.
The sequence was vintage Price, and so was his answer.
Price made three more difficult saves in the first five minutes of the game that prevented Team Czech Republic from taking an early lead. He fought through screens to find pucks, smothered rebounds before they became dangerous and imparted a sense of general calm to his teammates at a time in the game when they were struggling to handle Team Czech Republic's speed.
"He made some big saves early on in that game," Team Canada forward Matt Duchene said Sunday. "They came out hard, and I think what he was able to do early on kind of settled us down and allowed us to get into that game with confidence."
It is easy by looking at his numbers to clearly define how valuable Price is to his team, whether it's Team Canada or the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL. What isn't so easy to define is that residual effect Price's demeanor in goal has on his teammates, how it builds their confidence the way Duchene described and ultimately how watching him play impacts the way they play.
"It's hard to describe," Team Canada defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said, before pausing for several seconds to think about his answer.
"Number one it's how he plays the position," he said. "I think you have confidence in that. He's not a guy who's diving around and kind of all over the place. There's some guys who do it that way and are very good at it, but he's just there. His game, if he's not moving around too much it's good, because he's in the right position.
"When you see that, it's a little bit calming."
Dating back to the quarterfinals of the 2014 Sochi Olympics against Latvia, Price has not allowed a goal in international competition in 224:19, shutting out the United States in the Olympic semifinal, Sweden in the final, and Team Czech Republic at the World Cup.
It may not seem like Price's heroics were a big factor in a 6-0 win but he needed to make those big saves early in the game, just like he did early in the Olympic semifinal against the United States when he turned aside a great chance by Phil Kessel shortly after the opening faceoff in what turned out to be a 1-0 win.
That Olympic semifinal against the United States was about as dominant a 1-0 win as you will ever witness, but one that would have been completely different had Price made just one mistake.
It may seem like it doesn't make a difference because Team Canada doesn't need him that often, but if Price wasn't there when called upon, people would definitely notice.
"The guys are comfortable with him and he doesn't turn nothing into something, so that's a great skill for a goalie," Babcock said after the game Saturday. "He just seems to be comfortable. He doesn't get any shots or any chances, and then he's there to make a big save."
