Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will make his season debut Friday against the New York Islanders, interim head coach Martin St. Louis confirmed.

Price has been sidelined for the duration of the 2021-22 campaign after undergoing offseason knee surgery and entering the NHL's player assistance program in October.

The 34-year-old restarted rehab for his knee in January, delaying his return to the ice.

"You see all the work an athlete does," St. Louis said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "The success of a player is judged on the ice, but there's so much an athlete has to do off the ice to have success on it ... With what Carey has been through and the work he's put in, it's fun to have him here today."

Price was limited to 25 games last season due to injury but put together a spectacular playoffs. He produced a .924 save percentage across 22 games in the Canadiens' run to the Stanley Cup Final.

With Price unavailable, the last-place Canadiens have turned to five different netminders this season: Jake Allen, Sam Montembeault, Andrew Hammond, Michael McNiven, and Cayden Primeau.

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