Carey Price's comfort level rising after successful adjustments

PITTSBURGH – Carey Price will be Canada’s starter when they kick off the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto Saturday night against the Czech Republic.

The game will be Price’s third since returning from a November MCL sprain in his right knee that ended his season with the Montreal Canadiens. When Hockey Canada was putting together its roster for this tournament, there was question as to whether he would be healthy enough to play. But eventually he found himself listed among the initial 16 players announced in March.

Through three games, Price has played 123 out of a possible 180 minutes and stopped 45 of 50 shots faced. More importantly, his knee feels fine.

“It’s a never-ending process. I always feel like there’s something I can improve on,” Price said after Canada’s 3-2 overtime victory over Russia at Consol Energy Center. “That’s no different tonight. I felt better but it wasn’t a perfect game.”

Canada finished the pre-tournament portion of the World Cup with a 2-1 record, but still have plenty to work on. They started the game well, but seven penalties slowed momentum at times and allowed Alex Ovechkin to tie the score early in the third period. Ryan Getzlaf would play the role of hero netting the winner in overtime.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Hockey: Sign up and join a league today!]

From Canada’s first game against the U.S. to Wednesday’s win over Russia, Price has felt more and more comfortable between the pipes. He’s also learned to adjust game from game and settle into a groove.

“I knew the first game was going to be a little bit tough,” Price said. “As a hockey player anybody will tell you, you find a groove and you feel comfortable out there. You kind of have a great feeling of the tempo of the game. You don’t work too hard; don’t try to do too much. I think in the first game that’s what I was trying to do, I was trying to be maybe a little bit too aggressive, trying to do too much, and I think tonight just tried to slow it down a little bit, let the puck come to me and it worked out.”

With two days off before their tournament opener, Price can now get a bit of rest before the grind of three games in four days begins. We’ll see if head coach Mike Babcock rides Price for the entire round robin or gives him a breather for a game and lets Braden Holtby or Corey Crawford have a turn.

Even with their strength in goal, Price is the clear-cut No. 1, and it’s a big boost for Canada to have him playing and feeling 100 percent.

“Obviously you don’t see him that many nights like you did his first night, even saying that he’d been off for a long time, it’s probably expected,” Babcock said. “I think it was good he was back in the net and he did a great job for us.”

– – – – – – –

Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy