NHL

Canadiens’ Price out for series; coach blasts ‘reckless’ Kreider

MONTREAL — Michel Therrien got mad, and Chris Kreider had a response.

Therrien, the Canadiens coach, was all in a tizzy Monday morning after having to explain that his starting goaltender, Carey Price, would be out for the remainder of the Eastern Conference final with an apparent right leg injury. Price had been slammed into by Kreider, the Rangers speedy power forward, early in the second period of Game 1.

“Looking at the incident, it’s a reckless play,” Therrien said. “That’s the truth. Kreider, this is not the first time he is going at goalies. We end up losing our best player.”

Before Monday’s Game 2 at the Bell Centre, with the Rangers having taken a decisive 7-2 victory in Game 1 on Saturday afternoon, Kreider was defiant about his innocence and had no regrets about what happened — except one.

“I look back on it and wish I would have put it in the net,” Kreider jabbed. “Obviously I was trying to score a goal and I put it wide. It was a bang-bang play and it happened quickly.”

The play occurred 3:15 into the second period, with the Rangers holding a 2-0 lead. Kreider was streaking down the ice on a breakaway, and Montreal defenseman Alexei Emelin got his stick at his feet and Kreider went barreling into Price, skates up.

Price was shaken up, but stayed in for the remainder of the second, only to start the third on the bench in favor of backup Peter Budaj. Therrien said the injury was not compounded by Price continuing to play, and there was a possibility he could be ready if the Canadiens advance to the Stanley Cup finals.

Although Therrien said he had made up his mind on who would start Game 2 — either Budaj or Dustin Tokarski, who has seven games of NHL experience — he did not disclose.

“Our group, we’ve faced a lot adversity through the course of the season, and we’ll respond and get the attitude to respond really well,” Therrien said. “And this is what I’m expecting, starting tonight.”

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said he hopes there is no retaliation, and after reviewing the play, he was adamant about what happened.

“Let’s make it clear: Kreids did not run Price at all,” Lundqvist said. “I want to make that clear.”

Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien

Therrien has had a strange transformation about how he feels about the play, seemingly in concert with his knowledge of the severity of Price’s injury. After the game, with Price not looking too bad, Therrien said, “I think it was accidental, honestly.”

After Sunday’s practice, when Price tested the leg and went off the ice early, Therrien said, “It’s tough to say if he tried everything to avoid that contact.”

And then just before this Game 2, with his best player now sidelined indefinitely and his team’s chances to reach the Stanley Cup final dampened, Therrien went ahead and called it “reckless.”

And Kreider, the newly crowned Villain of Quebec, was, in his own words, “going to continue to play my game and play hard.”

“I think I’m a clean player,” he said. “I don’t go out with the intent to hurt anyone, ever. So I’m going to continue to try to score goals.”