But wow. Price is playing with confidence and aggressiveness.

This is definitely a big season for Price. Everyone knows it.

One thing that I’m waiting to see is exactly how those “passionate” fans… you know, the ones who seem to think booing your players off the ice is gonna help somehow…. and how Price himself reacts to some of the challenges that will certainly present themselves.

There are gonna be games where the team in front of him may let a ton of shots through… again. And there are gonna be games where Price is gonna let a soft goal in… or maybe 2.

Will the fans give him a fair shake? Are they gonna jump on him in true “boo bird” fashion when he plays a bad game? Might they even blame him for a loss where the team lets him face…. say 45 shots…. and only manage 20-ish shots on their opponents? (happened last year)

How is Carey’s confidence gonna hold?

Price, in my opinion, is one heck of a talented goaltender. He’s got loads of natural skill, size… he’s won at every level. He’s got all the tools.

If the boo birds flock to the bell center with regularity this season, how will Price react?

I’m hoping he’s given a fair shot. Yeah, people can voice their displeasure but getting on a guy who’s playing on your team repeatedly… just remember what they did to Brisebois (like him or not), probably did nothing to improve the moral not only of the player but the entire team.

I’m with ya Carey. Hope you have a strong season.

Seems to be alot of things on the go with the Habs. Rookie camp is all started up… full speed ahead… some of the vets are skating and the full blown training camp starts up at week’s end.

Many things are being talked about…. captaincy, the lineup…etc.

I titled this article “Will Andrei Kostitsyn score 20 or more?” because not only am I wondering, I’d love to know what you think.

At first when I started thinking about A. Kostitsyn going into this season, I started thinking that he would perform better because there would be less of a distraction without Sergei on the team. For the record, I’m not a “Sergei” hater… but for some reason, he just always seemed to be in the middle of something that seemed a distraction.

I think Sergei can still have a solid career if he works hard.

Back to Andrei, I was surprised to see that prior to Sergei joining the team, Andrei’s numbers really weren’t “anything to write home about”. He was just breaking into the league himself.

The 2 seasons prior to playing with brother Sergei on the team, he totaled 34 games played, 3 goals, 11 assists for 14 points.

Here’s Andrei’s averages for the (last) 3 full seasons he’s played. I’ve posted the actual numbers and also the averages per 82 games had he played them.

Real 78 Games: 2007-2008 – 26 G – 27 A – 53 Pts
82 Game Avg: 2007-2008 – 27 G – 28 A – 55 Pts

Real 74 Games 2008-2009 – 23 G – 18 A – 41 Pts
82 Game Avg: 2008-2009 – 25 G – 20 A – 45 Pts

Real 59 Games: 2009-2010 – 15 G – 18 A – 33 Pts
82 Game Avg: 2009-2010 – 21 G – 25 A – 46 Pts

I was surprised to see that there wasn’t a dip but an actual increase for last season’s numbers.

Personally, I think there may have been distractions but I’m not so sure Sergei was “the” distraction. I remember hearing about rifts in the dressing room on sports media back a couple of years ago and I believe that had the Canadiens not been stricken with so many injuries last season (Andrei of course falling to injury himself) Andrei Kostitsyn’s offensive production would have been much stronger.

Last season, as with a couple of previous years, the lineup was, at times, constantly changing. New team mates not quite being able to get the chemistry going until (perhaps) late in the season.

This year, I believe Andrei Kostitsyn will score more then 25 goals. Unless we see another year where the lineup is peppered with injuries (God forbid!).

I can picture a line of Kostitsyn | Plekanec | Cammalleri scoring some goals. There are some puck moving skills and shot taking skills between those 3.

And there are some guys in the dressing room who’s work ethic will rub off on team mates. Cammalleri, Gionta, Gorges….etc.

Show’em what you can do Andrei!

And oh yeah, before I forget…. if you can throw a few hits here and there…. you’ll be a monster.

So…. what do you think?

Here’s a nice little feature on Dustin Boyd.

I enjoyed the article and thought I’d share it here.

Click here to read “All Hail Halak” from the Upper Deck blog.

Carey Price has been playing some fantastic hockey as of late. After a little bit of a slower start some fans were sounding the panic alarm about Price and some of us were thinking that maybe the fact that Martin seemed to be rolling with a “win and your in” game plan might create some hunger with the goaltenders… a healthy competition.

One thing is for sure, Price is looking like he’s got that confidence back.

The NHL has certainly noticed by naming him 2nd star.

Congrats Carey!