Canadiens goalie Carey Price says he's taking a little time off to tend to his as-yet-unspecified 'lower-body injury'.
Price did not skate Tuesday morning at the team's practice facility in Brossard, as the rest of the team prepped for their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Price told reporters that his injury is minor, and wouldn't keep him out of action if the Habs were in the playoffs. He says he suffered his injury during the warmup period before the Habs' Nov. 2 game in Minnesota. The Wild won that game, 6-3, with Price giving up an uncharacteristic five goals on 26 shots.
He also suggested he could take a little more time off because of the brilliant play of rookie Charlie Lindgren, who's been putting up Price-like numbers in the past week or so — a 3-1-0 record with a 1.24 goals-against average and a .964 save percentage.
Meanwhile, later on in the morning, the Canadiens announced they had claimed veteran Finnish goaltender Antti Niemi off waivers. Niemi has played for the Blackhawks, Sharks, Stars, Penguins and Panthers since he entered the league in 2008-09. He played five games this season, lost four of them, playing for the Penguins and Panthers. He gave up 21 goals in those five games.
He was claimed on waivers by the Panthers only a month ago.