Canadiens goalie Carey Price in concussion protocol

After leaving Monday night’s game following the first period, it wasn’t clear exactly what the prognosis was for Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price. He wasn’t on the ice for Tuesday morning’s practice either, and head coach Dominique Ducharme explained that his starting netminder has been placed in the concussion protocol and will be out at least a week.

Jake Allen, who finished Monday night’s game, and Cayden Primeau were the goalies on the ice Tuesday. It appears as though they’ll have to carry the load for a little while.

Although he played out the period, Price did have his head contacted by Alex Chiasson early on. That is where Ducharme believes the concussion occurred, but at any rate, the team will have to go without the high-priced netminder.

It’s been a brutal year for Price overall with a 12-7-5 record and .901 save percentage through 25 appearances. He has been steadily outplayed by Allen, who was supposed to be the clear backup. Allen now takes over as the obvious No. 1 until Price is cleared to return. Even then, as much as they don’t want to admit it, the Canadiens have a controversy brewing as the playoffs approach. A recent concussion for Price will only strengthen the case to have Allen in net for Game 1, should Montreal hold on to the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division.

As for Primeau, who now steps into a backup role, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports tweets that the young goaltender is expected to make his season debut against the Calgary Flames later this week. He has been recalled to the NHL squad under emergency conditions and will likely start one of the back-to-back matches on Friday/Saturday.