Music: {allcanada} Price carrying Canadiens, leads race for Hart Trophy

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A goalie has won the Hart Trophy seven times in the 90-year history of the award. It hasn't happened since the 2001-02 season, when Jose Theodore took home hardware for being the main reason a subpar Montreal Canadiens team made the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Though it's obviously rare, if the NHL handed out the trophy today for the most valuable player, it would go to, or at least it should go to another Canadiens goalie.

Carey Price has been the best player in the NHL this season and the biggest reason why an otherwise decent Montreal team is leading the Eastern Conference with 87 points. He is NHL.com's pick for the Hart Trophy winner at the quarter pole of the season.

"He's just much more competitive than he was in the net," NHL Network and former NHL goalie Kevin Weekes said. "He battles a lot more than he used to so he's making a lot more second saves, second-effort saves, and desperation saves. He doesn't rely on positioning as much as he used to. He doesn't rely just on positioning and technique only whereas before he just strictly relied on technique, being smooth, his size and positioning. Sometimes you have all those things going for you and the puck goes in and you're like, 'Hey, how did the puck go in?' Now he is saying, 'I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this doesn't go in.' That's a real big improvement in his game."

Price leads the NHL in wins (36), save percentage (.935) and goals-against average (1.92). He is also tied for third in shutouts (6). Those numbers are strong, but put into context they become even more impressive and greater proof for how valuable Price has been to the Canadiens.

Price is putting up these numbers in spite of the fact that the Canadiens are among the League's worst possession teams.

Entering Tuesday, Montreal is 23rd in SAT percentage (48.9) and 22nd in shots on goal against per game (30.3). The Canadiens are also 22nd in score-adjusted SAT percentage (49.4), according to War-on-Ice.com.

Those shot statistics, typically viewed as proxies for possession, put the Canadiens in line with the bottom feeders in the NHL standings. Montreal is even behind the Arizona Coyotes in SAT percentage and behind the Edmonton Oilers in shots on goal against per game. They're a small notch above the Oilers and Coyotes in score-adjusted SAT percentage.

Price, though, has made those numbers somewhat irrelevant because of how well he has played.

"Price, for me, is the calmest of them all," Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "When you get a quality chance from the slot, he makes it look like you never even had a chance."

FINALISTS

Rick Nash, New York Rangers -- Nash has been one of the most important players to his team this season and is arguably the League's most unique goal scorer for how he scores, where he scores from, and the situations he scores in. Nash generates a lot of his goals by what he does not what other players do for him. He goes to the net. He finds the soft spots around the slot, a lot of the times from coming out from behind the net. He uses his long stick and reach to create turnovers. He creates chances by checking the puck back. And he does most of his damage at even strength.

Nash is second behind Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin with 38 goals in four fewer games, but he has scored five goals on the power play as opposed to Ovechkin's 19. Nash is first in the League with 29 even-strength goals, including three empty-net goals, and is tied for the lead with four shorthanded goals. Entering play Tuesday, Nash was the only player among the NHL's top 16 goal scorers this season who had a shorthanded goal. He is also tied for fifth with seven game-winning goals. Nash's shorthanded goals are one indication of how he's been one of New York's most important penalty killers. He is averaging 1:21 of shorthanded ice time per game. The Rangers entered Tuesday with the No. 9 penalty kill in the League (83 percent).

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals -- Ovechkin entered action Wednesday tied for the League-lead with 67 points and first with 43 goals, including a League-best 19 power play goals. He's on pace for 52 goals and 82 points. That would give him his highest single-season goal total since 2008-09 and his highest point total since 2010-11.

Ovechkin has been producing within the confines of the system that coach Barry Trotz brought to Washington. Entering Tuesday he was a plus-11 with a 53.94 SAT percentage this season after being a minus-35 with a 49.29 SAT percentage last season. Ovechkin's minus last season was partially reflective of his team-low .967 SPSV percentage, an indication that his linemates were not scoring at a competitive rate when he was on the ice. His SPSV percentage this season (993) is still low relative to the team's percentage (1006), but Ovechkin has been better overall in generating possession and sustaining possession. He has been simply just been better all over the ice and the Capitals are secure in a playoff spot because of it.

Also in the mix: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators; John Tavares, New York Islanders; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

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