Yes, the 20-year-old Montreal rookie said, the Flyers are doing a lot of yapping in an attempt to throw him off his game. And they really gave him an earful after they put three shots behind him in the second period of the 3-2 Canadiens' loss Monday night, which gave the Flyers a two-games-to-one lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"Trash-talking . . . that's all it is," Price said with a shrug yesterday. "I mean, somebody could say you're a jerk. I can't take any heed to that at all. There's a lot of that going on. It's all part of the scheme, I guess."

Yes, the Flyers are jostling him around a bit and even tripping him, as Steve Downie, his former teammate on Team Canada's World Junior Championship team, did late in the first period.

No big deal, the 6-foot-3, 226-pound Price said. "There's a little bit of physical contact," he said. "I'm a pretty big fellow. I can handle myself."

The Habs have tied their future to Price, and for good reason. They made him their first pick, No. 5 overall, in the 2005 NHL entry draft. He was the MVP of the World Junior Championship last year. He was the MVP when he led Hamilton to the American Hockey League's Calder Cup championship last year.

This season, he became the first goalie 20 or younger to win 20 games since Tom Barrasso and Patrick Roy in 1985-86. He became the fourth rookie in NHL history to record a Game 7 shutout in Montreal's 5-0 win over Boston in the first round, and the first rookie to get a 1-0 shutout in a playoff game.

A sparkling resume, no doubt. Yet Price has never been in the situation he will be in tonight in Game 4 at the Wachovia Center - guarding the net in an NHL playoff game with his team trailing in a series.

Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau, who replaced Price with Jaroslav Halak to start the third period, wouldn't publicly commit to starting Price yesterday. But considering what Price has meant to the Canadiens - and given that Halak has played a grand total of 22 NHL games and 20 minutes in the playoffs - it would be stunning if the coach didn't start Price.

Carbonneau said Halak has "shown me a lot since he's been here."

Yeah, right.

Meanwhile, Price, who has lost four of his last six starts, said he can draw on experience to right himself, the experience of the series against the Bruins. Montreal was ahead, three games to one, before Boston won the fifth and sixth games and appeared to have Price's number. Then he shut them down in Game 7. That made Price 1-0 in must-win NHL playoff situations. Tonight is probably another must win.

"The last series, things went great. Things went sour. We came out on top," he said. "It's kind of the exact same thing, only we're playing better than the last series. We have full confidence in ourselves. When things go sour on you, you just can't give up."

To a man, the Canadiens believe that they have deserved a better fate. They believe that they have outplayed the Flyers - they outshot them, 34-14, in Game 3 - and that it's inevitable some of those golden scoring chances will start to find the net.

"I know if we keep playing like this, we'll be OK," Carbonneau said.

As for Price, tonight will be a new experience.

"I'm 20 years old, and I'm finding out the hard way that the playoffs aren't easy," he said. "It's better to find out now than to find out when I'm 30."