Carey Price Injury: Canadiens goaltender done for the series

At the game day skate press conference this morning, Michel Therrien confirmed the horrendous news that Canadiens MVP of the playoffs Carey Price will not play again in this series, as the injury to his knee is too severe.

The injury occurred when Chris Kreider broke in on a breakaway and was swatted in the right leg by Alexei Emelin's stick. Kreider maintained balance, got the shot off, then lost balance and crashed skates first into Price, jamming his right knee.

Much has been made about Kreider's intentions on the play, and he clearly made zero effort to avoid contact, but there was nothing more malicious in that play than any run of the mill goalie crash that happens multiple times every game, it's just an unlucky, unfortunate, disastrous result.

It will most likely be Peter Budaj starting for the Canadiens the rest of the way, but his .842 playoff save percentage is impossibly awful, and doesn't inspire much confidence. Expect Budaj's leash to be fairly short, with Dustin Tokarski possibly drawing in at some point.

This injury to Price brings the Canadiens chances to win this series from about 50/50 to almost zero. You can win with a backup against an inferior team, but the Rangers are the Habs' equals, or at least close to it.

This marks the second straight season that the Canadiens will likely finish the playoffs with Carey Price injured, and the third straight season. That is a very, very worrying occurrence.