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It was late last March, 10 games remaining in the regular season, when Dustin Tokarski looked to his left in the Canadiens’ dressing room at the gathering storm of media awaiting the post-game arrival of fellow goalie Carey Price.

“If all goes as planned and all goes well,” Tokarski said with a grin that night, amused by this swarming madness, “hopefully there’ll be a lot of hockey-watching for me.”

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Tokarski perfectly understood the situation: the Canadiens were preparing to live or die with Price, who was enjoying a record-setting season that three months later would see him sweep the NHL awards.

Tokarski would play only two more games of the 10 remaining from that night onward, his 15th and 16th starts of the season, in a campaign that saw him go 6-6-4 with a .910 save percentage and 2.75 goals-against average.

Price, as expected, would play the bulk of what was left of the regular season, then carry the Habs’ 12-game load through two playoff rounds.