Ottawa 5 Montreal 1. Montreal leads series 3 games to 2.
Every playoff series or round has a hero. In this one between these two division rivals, it has come upon to be Craig Anderson, the Ottawa netminder who took over from Andrew Hammond after Game 2.
What a difference the switch made as suddenly, the Ottawa Senators have made this a series in the words of hockey fans watching, as those "pesky" never-say-die Sens have battled back from a 3-0 series deficit to narrow it down to 3-2.
With their latest triumph a 5-1 romp over the confused and confusing Canadiens, arguably one of the league's elite teams, Ottawa now sports all the confidence it needs in attempting to stave off elimination when these two teams reconvene at the "madhouse" which is the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata on Sunday for Game 6.
And a madhouse it will be!
What gives with these Habs? Perhaps many (including les Canadiens) took it for granted that the Habs were going to be too much for the Sens to handle. That became no more evident than when the Habs went up 3-0 in the series, and with Ottawa's Mark Stone slightly injured yet playing, it could not have looked worse for the 'hapless' Sens.
But...Anderson stops 'em (has stopped 120 of 123 in the last three games combined) and voil?, Sens forward Bobby Ryan finally gets it going scoring two goals in Game 5.
What will happen next? This series is now becoming a good mystery. Truth is, anything can happen. We'll find out Sunday.
More here:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/senators-stay-alive-with-second-straight-win/