BROSSARD, Que. Chris Carpenter Cardinals Jersey . -- Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price said Saturday the "lower body" injury he suffered in the NHL Eastern Conference final wont need surgery. Prices playoffs ended in the second period of the series opener after New York Rangers forward Chris Krieder crashed into him while on a breakaway. He would only call it a lower body injury, although he was wearing a brace on his right knee in the days after the incident. "Over time its going to get back to normal," he said. "I actually got really lucky, it could have been a lot worse than it was." Price lay on the ice for a moment after the collision early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 victory, but finished the period. He was substituted by back-up Peter Budaj for the third. No penalty was called on the play, although teammate Brandon Prust said Kreiders crash was "accidental on purpose." "I dont think he did it intentionally and I dont think he tried to miss me either," said Price. "He was coming in with a lot of speed and he lost his footing. "Theres not much really to be said. Im not going to go seeking revenge or anything like that. Hockey is a game of chance and unfortunately, I was unlucky in that situation." Budaj was beaten for three goals in his one period of action and coach Michel Therrien made the surprise decision to start third-stringer Dustin Tokarski for the rest of the series. Tokarski, who had only played 10 NHL regular season games in his career and had no playoff experience, was solid in goal, going 2-3-1 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. Price had been 8-4-1 with a 2.35 average and a .919 save percentage. "That was probably one of the hardest situations you could ever throw a guy into and he really excelled," Price said of Tokarski, a former rival in the junior Western Hockey League. "He showed why hes won at different levels. "Hes an awesome guy and Ive got to tip my hat to him. He did an awesome job." It left Budaj out to dry. The Slovak has a year remaining on his contract but looks to have been bumped to third-string status. Price feels for him. "Its definitely a tough spot," he said. "Peters one of the genuinely nicest human beings Ive ever met. "Hes an unbelievable backup. Hes one of the best friends I have on this team and he showed a lot of character. He never hung his head, never pouted and he showed the utmost support for everybody, including Dustin. It takes a special person to do that." Price was on an accelerated rehab program after the injury. Going from a five-minute skate to a half hour in pads and then practising with his teammates. He said he should have been able to play if the team reached the Stanley Cup final. "I would have been pushing my luck to come back real quick, but obviously the time of year I would be trying to come back real soon," he said. "Obviously, in the playoffs you play through things, and thats what I wanted to do. But theres also the reality that no matter how bad you want to play and how bad you want to get in there, theres also a question of how effective you are going to be. That was a decision that we had to make." He said the injury was not related to the one he suffered while backstopping Canada to gold at the Sochi Olympics in February. The 26-year-old plans to continue rehab in Montreal for a short spell and return home to British Columbia to heal and get ready for next season. Willie McGee Cardinals Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., who trains out of San Diego, will fight bantamweight champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey on July 5 in the co-main event of UFC 175 in Las Vegas. Jose Martinez Jersey . Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-bob-gibson-jersey/ . Mark Teahen scored the go-ahead run in the home seventh on an error by Scott Sizemore, who had knotted the game with a solo homer in the previous half- inning. Paul Konerko then hit an RBI single which proved to be the winning run.Outside of Canada, there are very few countries where hockey is far and away the most popular sport. Latvia is one of them.Hockeys been always the No. 1 sport really back home, Buffalo Sabres centre Zemgus Girgensons said. Theyre just passionate about it. Its like soccer in some other European countries.Just like soccer fans flock to see the World Cup every four years, Latvians make a point to see their team at every international competition. At last years world championships, many drove over the southeastern border into Belarus, and slept in tents or in their cars to be around for the event.No fan base in international hockey is quite like Latvias. Ted Nolan found that out when he took over the Latvian national team and spent his first scouting trip there watching the fans more than players.The fans were so adamant, they were so boisterous, they were so into the game, you couldnt help but watch and be part of it, Nolan said.Fans followed Nolan and his team to world championships in Stockholm, Helsinki and Minsk and to the Olympics in Sochi.People plan their vacations around their national team, said Nolan, who now coaches the Sabres. Its not a fluid country where the people have a lot of extra cash and a lot of extra money. But this is a part of life they really enjoy, and they save and they use it as a vacation.So when some of the most fervent hockey fans in the world could spend nothing and still make an impact on the sport, they went all out. Girgensons led the NHL all-star voting from the get-go and finished ahead of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and everyone else with 1,574,896 votes.It was a show of force for Latvia, the small country of just 2 million people wedged between Russia and the Baltic Sea. But many of those people cared deeply about getting Girgensons to this weekends all-star game in Columbus.They want to vote him in, and when they saw hes leading, then they decided the mission is now to not relinquish the lead and to make him No. 1 vote-getter, said former NHL goaltender Arturs Irbe, a native of the Latvian capital of Riga. In the eyes of those fans, it puts our country on the map.Girgensons going to the all-star game is just the latest example of Latvian fans going above and beyond in the name of hockey.Irbe, who represented Latvia from before their move up into the IIHFs top division in 1997, said this kind of dedication has been going on for almost two decades.I have had my buddies from playing days travel 24 hours, 36 hours by bus, Irbe said. Partying, then going to the games, partying, going back, staying on a bus sometimes in tents, in camping sites — all kinds of places — because whatever your means are to support your vacation, thats what youre going to use.Its about the love of sport and the fun of partying, Irbe said, but Latvians also see hockey as a point of national pride. At Summer and Winter Olympics before and after being part of the Soviet Union, Latvia has never won a medal in a team sport aside from a bronze in beach volleyball in 2012.Mens and womens basketball have had some strong showings, but hockey is the focus.Our team has always been there — always not the strongest but not the weakest. Always being able to run with the big dogs, Irbe said. For us its important to see somebody in some field do well to be comparable, to be able to stand up to the strongest nations, to the best nations, as equal. Hockeys one of the ways how we can present ourselves being equal players on a world stage.Hockey is a bit like that for Canada, but Irbe said its even more important for a nation like Latvia that doesnt have the size or population to compete with richer, more powerful countries. Steve Carlton Jersey. The Sabres goaltending coach said the success of the Latvian hockey team boosts the confidence of individual people as they go about their daily lives.Two million people, its not a lot for the whole world, and to be able to show that actually we count, we matter and were successful, Irbe said. You have to have some success in life to be able to make next step and next stride towards more prosperity and a better life.Nolan is a native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and has coached in the NHL and Ontario Hockey League. But leading Latvia was something hell cherish the rest of his life.Sometimes its even more so than winning a championship. You kind of help build the morale and the enthusiasm of a country, Nolan said. You notice it everywhere you go. People sometimes when were in a sport think the world revolves around sport but really it doesnt. But when youre in that moment where a sport can get people to forget about their worries and their problems and their issues for a few moments, for myself to be a part of that, was tremendous.It took coaching Latvia for three years for Nolan to understand the full scope of what the sport means there. Only now can he explain that to North Americans.If each fan can think back in their memory to one of the most exciting games theyve ever seen and the excitement of the crowd and the jubilation of that crowd in that one particular game, thats how it is in Latvia all the time, Nolan said. Thats how they feel about their game. Theyre very passionate about it.Girgensons is currently the beneficiary of that passion. Olas, a Latvian band, made a Zemgus Girgensons rap video about him, his NHL career and getting more all-star votes than Kane.The 21-year-old was the only NHL player on Latvias Olympic team, but all this newfound attention from the voting is something totally different.I was not expecting anything, Girgensons said. It just came out of nowhere somehow and it just kind of expanded back home as a big thing.With 44 points, Girgensons already has the fourth most of any Latvian to play in the NHL, trailing Sandis Ozolinsh and the late Sergei Zholtok and Karlis Skrastins. In just his second season with the Sabres, Girgensons has become the No. 1 centre and a big piece of their future.Hes one of our better players on the team, Irbe said. Hes a cornerstone for this team probably for years to come and in a lot of ways a good example of what a true warrior, a true Buffalo Sabre is supposed to be with his work ethic and the way he plays.With the NHL trying to make sure each team is represented, Girgensons may have gotten the call anyway. Nolan said the 21-year-old deserved it, but it didnt hurt to have a boost from back home.If there was a vote for anything, Id certainly love to be Latvian because you know youre going to get the support, particularly sports figures, Nolan said. Maybe he got the Latvian vote to help him in this time, but I think his natural abilities are going to help get him in the next time and the times after that.Girgensons is in elite company as just the third Latvian all-star in NHL history, joining Ozolinsh (seven appearances) and Irbe (two). Irbe worried that the league might change voting rules next season because of this, but for now, he and many in his home country will be watching this weekend to see Girgensons among the worlds best.Its a great feeling, Irbe said. Theres another Latvian all-star. Cant beat that.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '