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“When you have a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.”

The first time I came across that phrase, it was used by New York Post columnist Peter Vecsey to describe the Boston Celtics’ Larry Bird. It was the early 1980s then and Bird regularly drove the nail through the heart of the Knicks.

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Flash forward 30 years to a different sport and a different star: When you have Carey Price, the whole world looks like a nail.

Against Ottawa Sunday night, Price might have played his greatest game as a Canadien, given the situation, the mounting hysteria in the fan base and a Senators team that had more lives than Count Dracula.

Price was cool as the other side of the pillow, to dredge up another oldie. That first oh-my-god-did-he-do-that kick save set the tone and at the end of the evening-long barrage, Price had defeated Montreal nemesis Craig Anderson and the Canadiens were movin’ on.

After a string of unsung heroes got the Canadiens rolling early in the series (Brian Flynn, Torrey Mitchell, Dale Weise) it was the turn of the hero whose praises are sung on a daily basis around here. Price was so absolutely in control, you had the sense early on that it was going to take a lucky bounce to beat him.