Team Canada didn't produce many goals in the playoffs round at the 2014 Olympics, but it didn't need to, it had Carey Price.
There are times when a stacked team that looks like an All-Star roster score so many goals that they could have a pee wee goaltender and still win. The 2014 Sochi Olympics were not one of those times for Team Canada.
With a star-studded lineup including Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Jamie Benn, John Tavares, Jonathan Toews, Ryan Getzlaf and Matt Duchene up front, while Shea Weber, Drew Doughty, Jay Bouwmeester, Duncan Keith, Alex Pietrangelo and Marc-Edouard Vlasic amongst others patrolled the blueline, Canada arrived in Sochi as a favorite and won the tournament, but it wasn't easy.
In group B, Canada joined Finland, Austria and Norway. Unsurprisingly, the Canadians got the better of Norway 3-1 and Austria 6-0, but when they took on Finland, it got harder. The favorites needed overtime to vanquish the Fins 2-1 with defenseman Drew Doughty notching both goals for the Canadians.
After finishing atop group B, Canada qualified for the playoffs round going straight through to the quarter-final while some teams had to go through the qualification playoffs round.
In its quarterfinal, Canada took on Latvia and while most expected the small country to be steamrolled, it came close to upsetting Mike Babcock's men. Goaltender Kristers Gudļevskis withstood a 57-shot effort from the Canadians, only allowing a pair of goals, but as Price was only beaten once, Crosby and co. moved on to the semi-final round. Not without having a good scare though as they scored the game winning goal late in the third. Price only needed to make 15 saves but they were important ones.
Team USA stood in Canada's way in the semifinal and while Jonathan Quick was almost perfect ,surrendering a single goal on the Canadians' 37 shots, it wasn't enough. Price shot the door all game long, making 31 stops to take his country to the gold medal game.
The Unifoliolate then met Sweden in the final — a diminished Sweden, it has to be said. On top of dealing with multiple injuries, the Swedes were without Nicklas Backstrom who had tested positive for a banned substance (which was found in medication he had been taking for seven years).
It was without a doubt Canada's most solid performance. A team effort from start to finish, no Canadian getting more than a single point on the day. Toews, Crosby and Kunitz all scored in a different frame as Team Canada signed a 3-0 win.
In the triumph, Price signed another shutout, stopping the 24 shots Sweden managed to get on net. The Canadiens' goaltender was in net for five or the six games and finished the tourney with a 0.60 goals-against average and a .972 save percentage.
The medal came in the golden age of Price's career. In seasons 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 he had phenomenal stats with the Montreal Canadiens and won four trophies at the end of the latter. That season, he walked away with the Vezina, Hart, Ted Lindsay and Jennings trophies.
After seeing what Price can do with an elite team, it's hard not to wonder how he would have done in the NHL had the Canadiens surrounded him with some more firepower up front. We'll never know, but even without winning a Stanley Cup, he will forever be one of the greats in the record books and in the Habs faithful's hearts.
