We last saw this kind of attitude from Carey Price in another 2-1 shootout victory. That was not quite 11 months ago on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning, to-night's Bell Centre opponent.

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-Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price speaks with assistant coach Pierre Giroulx during team practice in Brossard Quebec near Montreal Friday November 6th 2009.

Photograph by : Montreal Gazette

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The Montreal Canadiens goaltender had stopped two of three shooters to seal the Dec. 30 win. Finally, after stoning Tampa sniper Vincent Lecavalier, he confidently -- with a pinch of arrogance, even -- made like Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt by striking a dramatic archer's pose.

Price had made 21 saves in regulation and overtime, then nailed down the victory in the shootout to run his own and his club's winning streak to three.

Thursday in Boston, he made precisely double the saves that he had in Tampa, thus ending a personal six-game losing streak and a team skid of nine in a row versus Boston.

If body language tells you something about a goaltender, the 22-year-old spoke many tongues in this night-long Boston blitz.

Price robbed Blake Wheeler, Boston's first shootout candidate, with a dazzling glove save, then flicked the puck dismissively from his mitt, out toward the faceoff circle. Translation: "That's the best you've got?"

Patrice Bergeron fired wide on the Bruins' second attempt. And when Price poke-checked Mark Recchi on Boston's final try, Mike Cammalleri having given the Canadiens the only goal they'd need, he booted away the final rejected puck to end a statement game.

"It was pretty similar," Price said after yesterday's practice, comparing his Tampa frame of mind to that which he had Thursday. "I've always enjoyed shootouts. It's fun to have everything focused on the goalie and shooter. It's pretty satisfying when you win."

For Price, this was a large exclamation mark in a season thus far punctuated by inconsistency, shaky effort and plain dumb bad luck.

One game has reminded him, the Canadiens and their fans how well this goalie can play when he's in the zone. His season-best .977 save percentage Thursday was only his fourth game in the .900s; the 43 shots he faced was second-most to the 46 he saw in the season-opening overtime win in Toronto.

Now 3-6, Price has a little something on which to build. He didn't even realize he'd hit a modest personal milestone, only learning he had 50 NHL victories to his name when so advised post-game by his father, Jerry.

"Hopefully I've got a lot more than that [to come]," he said.

No one is, or should be, comparing Price to Hall of Famer Patrick Roy. But both goalies hit the 50-win mark in their 102nd NHL game. New Jersey's Martin Brodeur got there in just 93, while Vancouver's Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury of Pittsburgh arrived in 150 and 143 games, respectively.

He'd come to training camp with a new resolve, intent on improving from an injury-plagued sophomore season that had more downs than ups. And yet, the work isn't reflected in the 'W' column or a pedestrian save percentage and goals-against average, which now are at .896 and 3.32.

"It's frustrating, but you're bound to see results eventually," Price said. "That's what my dad and I talk about a lot."

Head coach Jacques Martin met with the goalie last week to evaluate performance to date and focus on work that needs yet to be done.

"One thing that's maybe new is the competition [with Jaroslav Halak]," Martin said yesterday. "That always brings the best out of an individual. [Price] has a lot of talent, and like many other talented players he must learn that you also need a very good work ethic to get to the next level."

A good sign was Price only quietly marking Thursday's victory, no matter the weight it removed from his shoulders. The celebration began with a kicked puck, and that's exactly where it ended.

"I realized we hadn't really won anything -- just another game," he said. "It's a cliche, but if you get too high, your work ethic drops. Too low, your confidence drops."

There is no more difficult a classroom in which to learn goaltending than Montreal. Price's lessons continue with each save, each goal, each bad bounce and each collar-tightening, six-game losing streak.

Funny how the sun shines more brightly on a blustery November day when you're riding the crest of a one-game win streak.

"Winning," Price said, "always makes everything feel better."