Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) keeps his eyes on the puck during third period NHL action against the Dallas Stars in Montreal on Tuesday, October 29, 2013. Montreal won the game 2-1.The Canadian Press
Heading into the 2013-14 National Hockey League season, many were of the opinion that Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks was an automatic to be Canada's No. 1 goaltender at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens has now entered the equation.
The Canadiens only managed a season-low 17 shots on goal, but it was enough as the surging Habs edged the New Jersey Devils 3-2 at the Bell Centre.
And Price was a major reason for the triumph, continuing his solid play to stake his claim for Sochi consideration, having now allowed two or fewer goals in his last eight starts.
To those who are closely tracking the play of Canada's Olympic goaltending hopefuls, there is no question that at the moment Price is the best option between the pipes.
Price's teammate, defenceman P.K. Subban, is also trying hard to dispel notions that he is too much of a defensive liability to warrant consideration for his involvement on the Olympic team.
Twice in Montreal's win over the Devils, Subban came to Price's rescue to take away sure New Jersey goals.
On the first occasion, Subban poked the puck away from Jaromir Jagr who was trying to jam it behind Price from the side of the net in the first period.
Subban's second goal line save occurred early in the third when he slid in behind Price to prevent Damien Brunner's attempt to poke it over the line.
"I won't be taking Pricey's job any time soon, I think he's got that one pretty locked down," Subban said. "The amount of times that he's bailed me out, I don't mind stepping in there. He played so well today, just like he's done all year for us."
The Winnipeg Jets continue to roll along, earning their third victory in four road games with a decisive 5-2 triumph in New York over the Rangers.
And it wasn't too bad a start to what John Albert hopes is a long and productive NHL career.
After being called up from the minors on Sunday, Albert scored one of Winnipeg's goals on his first NHL shot to help his team win.
Seahawks are flying high
The Seattle Seahawks 34-7 destruction of the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football reinforced the notion that they will be tough to overlook once the National Football League playoffs roll around.
And with another sublime performance in directing the high-powered Seattle offence, perhaps it is not too late to include Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in the MVP talk.
Reminding older fans of Joe Theismann when he was at his scampering best with the Washington Redskins, the diminutive Russell completed 22 of 30 throws for for 310 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
He also ran for 47 yards.
With the win, the Seahawks clinched a playoff berth and sent another message that they can be as dominant as any team in the NFL.
Knowshon Moreno, the Denver Broncos runningback, is doing his part to shatter the image of the NFL player as just an uber-aggressive he-man devoid of any emotions.
Moreno was caught on camera welling up during the playing of the U.S. National Anthem before Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
And we're not just talking about a little tear in the corner of his eye. We're talking about a full-on deluge that must have left a puddle at his feet.
"I'm always extra emotional." Moreno told reporters on Monday. "Slow motion makes it look a little worse than it was, but I was just fired up, man, excited to play this game, excited to be part of this team."
The Globe's Robert MacLeod curates the best of sports on the web most weekday mornings