Carey Price will be put to the test for the first time on Wednesday, getting the start in goal when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Pittsburgh Penguins in the final game of their three-game road trip.
"We don't want to keep (Price) away from the ice too long," head coach Guy Carbonneau told reporters after practice on Tuesday. "He's been good in practice and we thought this would be a good game."
Price, who was widely expected to begin the season with Hamilton of the American Hockey League, won the backup spot behind starter Cristobal Huet last week. The fifth overall pick from the 2005 draft is considered the team's goaltender of the future.
"I'm excited to get going,'' he said. "There might be a lot of shots, so I should get into the game early." The 20-year-old backstopped Canada to its third straight gold medal at the 2007 World Junior Hockey Championship and was named tournament MVP. Price also joined the Habs' AHL affiliate in Hamilton in the spring and led the Bulldogs to their first-ever Calder Cup, taking Most Valuable Player honours again.
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The team also announced on Tuesday that centre Kyle Chipchura will play in his first ever regular season game against the Penguins.
Chipchura, 21, was captain of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 2005 world junior championship and has spent the last two seasons in Hamilton.
He will likely centre a checking line with Steve Begin and Mathieu Dandenault, with Tomas Plekanec moving to the second line with Alex Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn. Rookie Mikhail Grabovski will sit out. Veteran defenceman Patrice Brisebois will be a healthy scratch, with Josh Gorges starting his first game of the season.
"We don't want to keep (Price) away from the ice too long," head coach Guy Carbonneau told reporters after practice on Tuesday. "He's been good in practice and we thought this would be a good game."
Price, who was widely expected to begin the season with Hamilton of the American Hockey League, won the backup spot behind starter Cristobal Huet last week. The fifth overall pick from the 2005 draft is considered the team's goaltender of the future.
"I'm excited to get going,'' he said. "There might be a lot of shots, so I should get into the game early." The 20-year-old backstopped Canada to its third straight gold medal at the 2007 World Junior Hockey Championship and was named tournament MVP. Price also joined the Habs' AHL affiliate in Hamilton in the spring and led the Bulldogs to their first-ever Calder Cup, taking Most Valuable Player honours again.
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The team also announced on Tuesday that centre Kyle Chipchura will play in his first ever regular season game against the Penguins.
Chipchura, 21, was captain of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 2005 world junior championship and has spent the last two seasons in Hamilton.
He will likely centre a checking line with Steve Begin and Mathieu Dandenault, with Tomas Plekanec moving to the second line with Alex Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn. Rookie Mikhail Grabovski will sit out. Veteran defenceman Patrice Brisebois will be a healthy scratch, with Josh Gorges starting his first game of the season.
