Price carving own niche in Canadiens goaltending history

MONTREAL -- One by one, in a variety of categories, Carey Price has been catching and passing the greatest goaltenders in Montreal Canadiens history.
Price will pull even with the legendary
Jacques Plante
atop the Canadiens' all-time games played list when he appears in his 556th game, against the New Jersey Devils at Bell Centre on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, SN, RDS, MSG+, NHL.TV).

Price was selected by the Canadiens No. 5 in the 2005 NHL Draft. He arrived in Montreal following a gold-medal win with Canada in the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship and a 2007 Calder Cup championship won with Hamilton of the American Hockey League.
The 30-year-old from Anahim, British Columbia, has ridden the roller coaster that is being a member of the Canadiens. He's a franchise cornerstone and hugely popular workhorse with stellar statistics who has also endured his struggles and missed considerable time with injuries.
In 2014-15, Price made an unprecedented sweep of the Hart, Vezina and William Jennings trophies and Ted Lindsay Award. He won Olympic gold for Canada in 2014 and was superb for his country in winning the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
In his 11th NHL season in Montreal and having signed an eight-year contract extension on July 2, Price seems likely to put a number of Canadiens goaltending records out of reach for years to come.

If he's not the keenest student of Canadiens history, too sharply focused on the present, Price is well aware of the goaltending legends who have gone before him in Montreal. He sat with NHL.com in the Canadiens' empty dressing room at Bell Centre after practice on Thursday, beneath the portraits of Plante and seven other Hall of Fame Canadiens goalies, and discussed the games-played record that was on his doorstep and the broader picture of his career and life in this city.
You're a "focus on the next save" kind of guy, more about the moment than the big picture, which you've said you'll reflect upon when your career is done. And yet here you are, about to tie Jacques Plante as the goalie who has played the most games in the history of the League's oldest franchise. Has the impact of that hit you in any way?
"A little bit. Lately I've had bigger fish to fry. It hadn't kicked in until I was asked to sit here now. I knew it was coming up, but I hadn't thought about it a whole lot. It's a pretty good accomplishment to catch Plante. It's not easy to play in the NHL and to stay here. Looking back at it now, I'm pretty proud of catching Jacques. I'm a day-by-day, step-by-step type of guy. I'd like to think I'm only halfway there. … When I came in here as a rookie, I never tried to be anybody other than myself. There were guys I looked up to, obviously, guys like
Patrick Roy
. But I never told myself that I'm going to be Patrick. That's just not possible."

The photos of eight Hall of Fame goalies are in this dressing room: Georges Vezina to your right, George Hainsworth directly above your seat, Bill Durnan over your left shoulder. Plante is 11 photos down, then Gump Worsley, Ken Dryden, Roy and Rogie Vachon. When you walk into this room, which photo will most catch your eye, and beyond that, what goaltenders have most impressed you during your career?
"Probably the guy over there, five from the end (pointing at Roy's photo). He's a guy I looked up to coming up. He always had that competitive fire, which I think I also have. Being here for Patrick's number retirement (Nov. 22, 2008) was really cool for me. Playing against (Devils goalie) Marty Brodeur was pretty cool for me. There are a few guys I'd like to meet now: Mike Richter (formerly of the New York Rangers), who I looked up to, quietly, because he's an American (laughs). Kirk McLean, because I was a big Vancouver Canucks fans growing up. I cried when they lost in 1994 (a seven-game Stanley Cup Final against the Rangers)."

Twice you've celebrated Plante, who pioneered and popularized the goalie mask, on your own masks, each of them worn one time only. On Dec. 4, 2009, in a game to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Canadiens' first game in the National Hockey Association, you had likenesses of Vezina, Hainsworth and Roy on one side of your mask, Durnan, Plante and Dryden on the other. And on Feb. 20, 2011, in the Tim Hortons Heritage Classic in Calgary, you had Plante's open eyes, mouth and ears framing your face. How much do you know about Plante and what he meant to goaltending?
"I don't know an awful lot, to be honest. His era was well before me. My father (Jerry, a former goalie and 1978 Philadelphia Flyers eighth-round draft pick who never played in the NHL), could give you a better recap of his career than I could. I haven't yet started looking deeply into the careers of the goalies I'm mentioned alongside, but I suppose I will now. It's pretty well known all the accomplishments Plante had in his career and all the hardware he won. He definitely deserves to be up on that wall."

Your first NHL game, Oct. 10, 2007, in Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena, a 26-save, 3-2 win against the Penguins, was 22 years to the day that Roy made his NHL debut, in the same arena, the same building where Dryden played his first game in 1971. What do you remember about your first game?
"I remember sitting in a room separated from my teammates. The two goalies -- myself and Cristobal Huet, and two of the scratches who took the warmup -- were there. The rest of the team was in the real room, on the other side of a door. Which was kind of nice, because I got to just focus on my own thing. I remember wearing a white mask because mine wasn't ready yet. (Looking at the scoresheet) I don't remember who was in goal for the Penguins. (Marc-Andre) Fleury? I thought it was this other guy, (Dany) Sabourin. Marc-Andre was a rookie coming into Pittsburgh right when I was coming out of junior. I looked up to him as an older peer, even though he's only three years older than I am. He made all the steps right before I did."

You made six saves that night on Sidney Crosby. Your first NHL save was on Mark Recchi 51 seconds into the game and you stopped Sid on the rebound a second later …
"I think I remember the save on Recchi. I remember it was a lucky save off the knob of my stick. (laughs) I think he shot low blocker, which he did a lot."
You're third in all-time wins on the Canadiens with 286, three behind Roy; Plante is first with 314. You're fourth in shutouts with 40, six behind Dryden, 18 behind Plante and 35 behind Hainsworth, who had 22 in his 44 games in 1928-29 before the forward pass was allowed. But let's talk about your penalty minutes -- your 43 lifetime ranks you a distant third behind Plante's 72 and miles behind Roy's 110 …
"I don't know how many 10s (misconducts) Patrick got, so look into that, OK? I won't try to think about personal stats until after. I can't remember who told me this; I might have been a rookie, when I was reading the pregame notes and the statistics. He said to me, 'You know what that is? That's tomorrow's toilet paper,' (laughs) but he didn't put it that pleasantly. I thought, 'That makes sense.' You can manipulate stats however you like. They can say you've won five of the last five games, but that might have been five of the last 25."

Your sweep of the 2014-15 Hart, Vezina, Jennings and Lindsay trophies, six NHL All-Star games, Olympics and World Cup of Hockey, and now you're about to make Canadiens history. Has there been a single highlight in your professional career?
"I don't know if there's one particular moment. Being the longest-serving Canadien now is kind of like a 'whoa…' moment for me. When Pleky (center Tomas Plekanec) was traded [to Toronto] at the deadline this year… he was the last guy I played with in my rookie season. Now I'm the old man … sort of. (laughs) The League is getting younger and I'm not. It definitely feels a lot different than when I was a 20-year-old."

Canadiens fans have seen you grow up before their eyes since you arrived here more than a decade ago. You've had ups and downs and been healthy and injured in a hockey market that is like none other. You've become a husband and a father in this city. Is there any one thing that has marked your life away from the rink?
"Definitely the birth of my daughter, Liv [in 2016]. She's changed me immensely. Any parent will tell you how big a life-changer that is. She brings so much joy into my world, it's unfathomable for a person who doesn't have children of their own. She makes it easier not to dwell on things. Not only is it a joy to come home, but I'm definitely busier so I don't have as much time to think about things. I'm a pretty strong believer in being able to put your work in at the rink and then park it. It's mentally draining if you think about hockey 24/7. (Wife) Angela and Liv and I will stay in Montreal for a week after the season, then head back to our offseason home (in Kelowna, British Columbia). And I don't know how much of the Stanley Cup Playoffs I'll watch. It's hard for me to watch somebody else do what I want to be doing. (laughs) It's like watching somebody else drive your car or ride your horse."
Will you take a souvenir from game No. 556, and from No. 557 when the games-played record is yours alone?
"I'm not a big memorabilia guy. I've got pucks, jerseys, a pretty mean hockey card collection. I'm sure the Canadiens will do something when I pass Plante, they're very classy like that. I'll take a puck from that game, I guess. There's only so much you can take. (laughs) And I'm running out of wall space, too."