InGoal Daily Update: Carey Price’s rapper pose down

… Plus Luongo answers fan snub, another impressive Islanders debut and lots more in the Jan. 7 Daily Update.

Carey Price returned to form after some work in practice and a trip to Costco.

One day after telling you the Montreal Canadiens’ No.1 spent his off day shopping at Costco and his practice day working to improve the positioning that had become a tad too passive during a December slump, Carey Price was back at his early-season, top-of-the-blue best with 31 saves in a 2-1 shootout win over Pittsburgh.

“It was just working out details, like I said during the week,” Price said after stopping all five shots in the shootout. “I thought that was an excellent week to get some work in (practice) and it paid off.”

It was an impressive performance, but the part sure to be talked about most was Price’s pose after it ended, an arms-crossed B-boy stance after stopping Chris Kunitz that was captured by The Score below:

There wasn’t much post-game talk about Price’s pose down, most likely because (as yours truly can attest) reporters are hustling down to the locker room after the final stop and not watching the celebrations, but it’s certainly not the first time Price has gone all Madonna after a final shootout stop. He also chose to “Strike a Pose” after stopping Vincent Lecavalier back in 2008, pointing to the sky and then making a archer-like shooting motion, a la sprinting star Usain Bolt at the Beijing Olympics.

“I borrowed it from a couple of football players,” Price said at the time. “Maybe T.O. Maybe Ocho Cinco.”

Luongo has answers – and more jokes – for critics

Roberto Luongo responded to the criticism from fans in Vancouver upset that he did not take his customary twirl, do the post-game on-ice interview, or give his game stick away after losing his shutout with 10.8 seconds left in a 43-save 3-1 win over Calgary in which he was named the game’s First Star.

“I don’t know if it’s a bid deal or not,” Luongo said. “But like I said, I was a bit upset with myself to lose a shutout like that. I’m a competitor. I don’t know what to tell you. I’ll give away two sticks next game.”

InGoal broke down the post-game decision – and Luongo’s still evolving transformation under new goalie coach Roland Melanson – in yesterday’s Daily Update, but one angle that wasn’t covered is the way the Canucks’ star is dealing with the media horde in Vancouver. Melanson told us earlier in the year he wants Luongo to have fun again in goal, and his daily dealings with the press, including a crack about “blacking out” after whiffing on a long shot in a pre-Christmas win, appear to show he is. They have also disarmed a press corps that must seem at times like it is also looking for the goalie’s next controversy.

The Vancouver Province did an excellent job of breaking down this change in Luongo.

Another game, another new goalie for the New York Islanders

It’s a good thing the only race the New York Islanders are in is for draft position next summer, otherwise the decision to trade veteran Dwayne Roloson to Tampa Bay might look a tad foolish the way they are going through goaltenders since. The good news is they are getting a good look at their puck-stopping prospects and there is lots to like, especially when they come off the bench. And given the recent injury history of brittle No.1 Rick Dipietro, that may be a valuable asset for any Islanders backup in the future.

With Dipietro injured shortly after Roloson was dealt, the Islanders got a great performance out of rookie Nathan Lawson coming off the bench to win in his hometown of Calgary earlier in the week. And when Lawson struggled early in Edmonton Thursday, they turned to 20-year-old top prospect Kevin Poulin, who was called up from Bridgeport after Dipietro suffered what is still being labelled a minor injury.

InGoal’s Daily Updates had the details on Dipietro’s injury and Lawson’s emotional homecoming, as well as the 3-goalie glut that quickly turned into a shortage for the Isles’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, but for the report on Poulin’s debut, we turn you over to Newsday, which labelled it “stellar.”

“After this game, I know I can play in the NHL,” Poulin told Newsday after stopping all 19 shots. “We’ll see if I get another start but right now it’s just a dream come true.”

One-timers from around the goaltending world:

~ Jason LaBarbera made the most of an emergency start after a family illness forced Ilya Bryzgalov to leave the Phoenix Coyotes by shutting out the normally high-scoring Avalanche with 33 saves. NHL.com has the details and highlights, but if you didn’t read it when it was first posted back in November, be sure to check out InGoal’s feature on how watching bryzgalov play and practice helped LaBarbera rediscover his own game.

~ Drew MacIntyre sounds like a guy looking for a way out of Chicago after struggling to find playing time – and to play well when he gets it – with the AHL Wolves. The Hockey News has more.

~ Penguins goalie coach Gilles Meloche could relate to Marc-Andre Fleury’s early season struggles as a former NHL goalie himself. The Montreal Gazette has a great look back at Meloche’s first game with the old California Golden Seals, a debut that left the goaltender in tears.