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‘I’m going to stick up for myself': Price has no regrets when it comes to incident with Palmieri

Seeing Carey Price lose his cool in last night’s game against the Devils was pretty shocking given his calm nature, but the Habs goalie had no regrets after the game was over.

“I got run on the first goal and I wasn’t going to take another one,” Price said, per the Montreal Gazette. “I got fired up, I guess. I’m going to stick up for myself now.

“It seems to be the nature of the league, to go hard to the net, run the goalie and score the goal. You have to stick up for yourself once in a while.”

Price’s actions might seem a little crazy on the surface, but when you consider the amount of times he’s missed games with various knee injuries, you kind of understand his frustration.

Remember this incident with Rangers forward Chris Kreider? Well, Price also took matters into his own hands with Kreider the next time they faced each other (it was a little more subtle than last night’s episode).

A knee injury also forced him to miss most of last season, and I don’t have to remind you what happened to the Canadiens while he was gone.

As for Palmieri, he saw nothing wrong with what he did.

“I mean, it’s just a hockey play,” Palmieri said after the game.

“I’ve done it probably 50 to 100 times in my career. You got to the net and whether it’s a trip or push, you lose an edge. It’s going to the net and that’s where you score goals.”

In case you didn’t know (Price admitted he didn’t), there is a rule about goalies using their blocker to target an opponent’s head.

Here’s the wording from the NHL rule book:

51.3 Match Penalty - If, in the judgment of the Referee, a goalkeeper uses his blocking glove to punch an opponent in the head or face in an attempt to or to deliberately injure an opponent, a match penalty must be assessed.

51.4 Fines and Suspensions - There are no specified fines or suspensions for roughing, however, supplementary discipline can be applied by the Commissioner at his discretion (refer to Rule 28).

Price being suspended seems highly unlikely, but the league issuing a fine isn’t out of the question.