Carbo places faith in rookie Price

[Habsfan84]

This year has been a learning experience for Canadiens rookie goaltender Carey Price and his latest lesson was a painful one.
Price took advantage of a day off Tuesday to go fishing with teammates Jaroslav Halak and Roman Hamrlik on a lake north of Phoenix, and he forgot to use sunscreen.
"I couldn't wait to get my mask off because it felt like it was scratching me," said Price, who looked like a raccoon with his bright red face offset by the outline created by his sunglasses.

Price, who caught some largemouth bass, will be feeling the heat again tonight as he gets the start against the Phoenix Coyotes (9 p.m., RDS, CJAD Radio-800).
The decision to start Price is a bit of a surprise because he's coming off what might have been his worst performance in a Canadiens uniform. He gave up six goals on 39 shots in a 6-4 loss to the San Jose Sharks Monday.
Head coach Guy Carbonneau said he decided to stick with Price because he wanted the goaltender to know the team has confidence in him.
"We showed a lot of confidence in our young goaltenders when we traded (Cristobal Huet) and I think it's important he understands that," Carbonneau said.
"We know there are going to be ups and downs, but both of them have to believe that it's not the end of the world. Not that we encourage bad performances, but to be able to go back to them is
always good for their psyche."
That raises the question of what happens to backup netminder Halak's confidence as he watches from the bench once again? He has yet to make an NHL start this season and has been limited to two periods in relief.
Carbonneau said the decision to go with the two young goaltenders was good and bad for Halak. He's in the NHL, but the Canadiens have been riding Price, who won his first three games after Huet was traded to Washington.
"It's not that we don't have confidence in him, but we've seen what Carey can do," Carbonneau said. "But we have two games this weekend and (Halak) will probably play Saturday (in Los Angeles). He'll play some games before the season's over."
Price said he was grateful for the chance to "get back in there sooner rather than later. I'm really competitive and I'm glad Carbo's put me back in there."
After the day off Tuesday, Carbonneau ran the team through an intense workout with a little bit of fun at the conclusion, with the forwards matching their shooting skills against the defencemen.
There was no mention of the meltdown in San Jose, but Carbonneau said he'll mention it this morning.
"If you want to go to the next level, you have to be ready for the unexpected," Carbonneau said. "We've been a surprise to a lot of people, but not anymore. We need to raise our level, mentally and physically, so that we're ready to accept those challenges."
One message Carbonneau will give the players is to avoid being distracted by things outside their control.
Price wasn't happy when he felt he was the victim of interference, but Carbonneau said that's something a goalie has to deal with.
"I could feel the frustration building on the bench over some of the non-calls. We had a player cut and it should have been a four-minute penalty instead of two and, on another occasion, (the Sharks) clearly had six men on the ice in a crucial situation. Guys were distracted but those are things that, over the course of a season, you get through and learn from them," the coach said.
After tonight's game, the Canadiens head back to California for games Saturday at 4 p.m. in Los Angeles and Sunday at 8 p.m. in Anaheim.