By shutting out the Montreal Canadiens in Game Four, Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson managed to break Montreal’s stranglehold on their opening-round playoff series. After three games, the Canadiens had seemed poised to run away with a sweep of the series, though they hadn’t dominated by any reasonable measure. Still facing elimination, the Senators hoped to sustain their momentum heading into Game Five.
Montreal started strong, with a flurry of chances right off the opening faceoff. The ensuing pressure led to Ottawa taking an early penalty for too many men on the ice. Montreal continued the pressure, but couldn’t get anything past Anderson. Ottawa finally figured out how to solve Carey Price…blocking out his vision.
“We came out of the gate really hard,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. “They took advantage of their opportunities. Anderson was really good.”
Senators forward Bobby Ryan scored on a soft wrist shot through a screen that Price never saw until it was past him, giving Ottawa their fifth straight 1-0 lead at 9:29 of the first period. Patrick Wiercioch gave the Senators their first 2-goal lead of the series at 15:39 of the frame, also taking advantage of a screen in front of Price. Montreal outshot Ottawa 15-13 in the period, but headed to the locker room on the wrong end of a 2-0 score.
Montreal seemed to take control of the game in the second period, generating several good scoring chances on Anderson. They outshot Ottawa 11-5 in the frame, but again it was the Senators who would make the most of their chances.
“It’s still a long road to go,” Anderson said. “We have to continue to work hard and be ready for the next one. We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve been able to come back and win the next two, and we’re really looking forward to getting there Sunday and trying to win another one.”
On one of Ottawa’s three power play opportunities, Captain Erik Karlsson unleashed a slap shot from the point that found its way through a maze of players and past Price to give the Senators a 3-0 lead at 14:29.
“We’re taking it one game at a time, which we have for a long time now, and all we’re worrying about is Game 6,” Karlsson said. “We have to win that one to even survive and we’re not even worrying about Game 7 right now. We’ve got to come into our building and we know they’re going to come out hard like they did [Friday] and they’re going to play well.
“They’re a good team and we just have to keep doing the same things over and over again and keep improving a little bit more for every game that goes on, which I think we have throughout the series.”
Montreal ramped up the pressure in the third period, finally breaking through at 1:44 on a screened shot from Tom Gilbert that was tipped in by Ottawa forward Bobby Ryan. The Canadiens followed with a flurry of chances, but Anderson turned them all aside. Senators forward Erik Condra scored on an unassisted breakaway at 14:02, capitalizing on a neutral zone turnover by Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov.
“At the end of the day, we’re up 3-2,” Montreal left wing Max Pacioretty said. “This is a good team we’re playing against. Nobody said it was going to be easy. They definitely have a lot of heart. They battled back from the [NHL Trade Deadline] and played some of the best hockey in the League. We were expecting them to play that well and their goalie is playing probably the best I’ve seen him play. We can’t focus on that. We’ve got to worry about winning one game and winning a series.”
Bobby Ryan closed out the scoring with a power play goal at 19:10, redirecting Mike Hoffman’s point shot past a screened Carey Price for a 5-1 final score.
“When you’re not scoring and you’re a guy relied on to bring offense, I don’t think there’s a harder position to be in,” Ryan said. “So to start [Friday], and hopefully it’s a domino effect moving forward, is a huge relief.”
Montreal outshot Ottawa 20-7 in the third period, and 46-25 overall. Anderson earned the win with 45 saves, while Price had only 20 saves in the loss. Anderson has now stopped 73 of Montreal’s last 74 shots, leading his team from a 3-0 deficit in games to 3-2, with a chance to tie the series on Sunday in Ottawa.
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