The good news for Carey Price? He’s back on the ice after missing a week with a severe case of the flu.
The bad news? He’s still not ready to play.
Price skated for 40 minutes ahead of Montreal’s practice on Monday, but it’ll be Al Montoya in net -- yes, again -- on Tuesday, when the Canadiens make their home debut against the defending Cup champion Penguins.
Price has been out since Oct. 10 with the illness, causing him to miss Montreal’s first two games of the season -- a 4-1 win in Buffalo, and an 4-3 OT loss in Ottawa.
Per TSN, Habs head coach Michel Therrien said that Price’s energy levels and weight loss are still issues, which is why Montoya will face Pittsburgh.
The veteran backup has been very solid in relief thus far. Montoya’s posted a 1-0-1 record with a 1.92 GAA and .942 save percentage over two starts, facing an average of 34.5 shots per contest.
Today’s news means that Montreal fans will once again have to wait for their star netminder to make his season debut.
Price, who suffered a season-ending MCL sprain last season, hasn’t played Nov. 25 -- he hasn’t played at home since Nov. 22 -- though he did return to game action for Team Canada at the World Cup of Hockey, backstopping the squad to the tournament championship.