MONTREAL — The Canadiens’ goaltending saga took yet another dramatic turn hours before Monday night’s Eastern Conference final Game 2 against the Rangers when third-string netminder Dustin Tokarski was informed he would start.
With starter Carey Price, the Olympic gold medal-winning goalie and the most important Canadiens’ player, out for the entire series with a leg injury after a collision with Rangers winger Chris Kreider in Game 1, the immediate assumption was backup Peter Budaj would start in his place.
But Montreal coach Michel Therrien opted to roll the dice on the 24-year-old Tokarski, who entered the game having played in only 10 NHL games — compared with the 296 Budaj has logged in his career.
The move seemed to be an obvious ploy by Therrien to spark his team, which was lethargic in its 7-2 Game 1 loss on Saturday.
It didn’t work.
After the Rangers survived the expected desperate early surge from the Canadiens, they beat Tokarski for three goals on 20 shots in the first two periods and won the game, 3-1.
The Tokarski start was the latest development in a bizarre couple of days regarding the Canadiens’ goaltending situation.
After Game 1, Therrien was clear in saying he felt the Kreider collision was “an accident.’’
The next day, the Canadiens coach said while he knows there was no “intent’’ on Kreider’s part to hurt Price, he did not feel as though he “made enough of an effort to avoid contact.”
And then Monday, hours before the game, his tune had changed completely as he ripped into Kreider, accusing him of being a serial goalie crasher.
“Looking at the incident, it’s a reckless play — that’s the truth,” Therrien said before the game. “Kreider … this is not the first time he is going at goalies. We end up losing our best player.”
Despite the loss of Price and the game Monday, Tokarski’s teammates raved about the kid.
“He played really well; you can’t ask for more of him,’’ Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban said.
“I thought he was awesome,’’ Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher said. “He made a lot big saves to keep it 3-1 and allow us to make the chase at the end.’’
The problem, though, was the three goals he gave up. While none would be considered a bad goal, the one Tokarski wanted back most was the Rangers’ second goal, which came from Rick Nash, who one-timed home a cross-ice feed from Kreider, Montreal’s Public Enemy No. 1, for a 2-1 lead with 1:02 remaining in the first period.
“I was expecting [Nash] to hold onto it a bit more and he caught me a little off-guard,’’ Tokarski said. “I would have liked to have beat the pass and gotten there on that one a bit sooner.’’
Tokarski said he was informed by Therrien before the morning skate he would make his first career NHL playoff start. He said Price gave him this advice: “Go out there, play your game and be a warrior.’’
“You grow up as a kid wanting to play in the playoffs and I got the opportunity and came up a bit short,’’ Tokarksi said. “It was a lot of fun, a lot of adrenaline. It was a big opportunity.’’
Tokarski entered the game having had a successful track record in the minor leagues as a strong playoff goalie, appearing in 14 postseason games in 2012 with the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, going 12-2 with a 1.46 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage with three shutouts. He also was Canada’s primary goaltender at the 2009 world junior championships, where he made 39 saves in the gold medal game.
“The No. 1 reason why we decided to go with Tokarski: You look at his track record, he’s a winner,’’ Therrien said. “I thought he played well. They’re all tough decisions, but we have to make them. I believe he did well, and we’re pleased with our decision.’’