Following each game of the Senators-Canadiens series, Eric Engels will be providing his post-game takeaways for sportsnet.ca. Follow him on Twitter @ericengels
It’s ominous in Ottawa
The forecast calls for rain in Ottawa, which only partly explains that thick black cloud hanging over the Senators.
The rest of it boils down to a cold, hard fact: The Montreal Canadiens have been the better team in this series.
This Senators team that shocked the hockey world on its way to the post-season is now stuck in the rain without an umbrella.
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Did the magic disappear with Andrew Hammond in Montreal?
“Day off tomorrow,” head coach Dave Cameron offered when asked what his message will now be to his troops prior to Game 4. “Gotta win a game.”
I’d imagine the Senators can do that, but can they conjure another miracle by becoming the fourth team in NHL history to come back from 3-0 in a Stanley Cup playoff series?
Braver people might wager on it, but not me.
Anderson was great, but Price has been underrated (if that’s possible)
On Sunday Craig Anderson was the reason the Senators had a chance to win Game 3.
The Senators dominated to open the game, leading 10-4 in shots at one point, and they squeezed out of the first period with a 1-0 lead.
Anderson finished the game with 47 saves, and the two that got away likely led to a sleepless night.
“It was just a really good shot,” Anderson said of Weise’s overtime winner.
But you just couldn’t have imagined that shot sneaking through after all the previous ones Anderson had stopped.
And with all the focus on Anderson, it’s easy to forget about the influence of Carey Price.
Price—as he’s done all year—kept the Canadiens in the game and gave them the confidence to steal it away, the way he stole away goals from Mark Stone on a couple of occasions Sunday.
“He’s the difference every night,” said Weise, sharing the credit with Montreal’s most valuable player.
The Canadiens had 20 wins in one-goal games this season. They went 20-6-10 in those situations. Practice makes perfect, and the Canadiens are now perfect in the playoffs with three one-goal wins.
Dale Weise is a big-game player
Dale Weise proved heroic in last year’s Eastern Conference final run for the Canadiens, and he was playing a completely pedestrian game Sunday until Therrien elected to make a change on his bottom two lines.
“I just wanted to make some changes to change the rhythm on Lars Eller’s line and Mitchell’s line.” Therrien said after the game. “Seems like Dale Weise scores some big goals as he showed us in the playoffs last year.”
Does he ever.
After an overtime game-winner in the first game of the Tampa-Montreal series last year, he scored another game-winner against Boston in the second round.
His only other goal of those playoffs opened the scoring in Game 7 of the Boston series.
But this one was bigger according to him.
“I just think the importance of this game in the series right now; it’s as big as it gets to get that one late, and to get the winner in that one feels pretty good,” he said. “These are the ones you play street hockey; you know, where you score the overtime winner. You’re not scoring a regular season goal at Game 40; you’re scoring the OT winner in the Stanley Cup playoffs to win the game. I’ve replayed that moment a couple times on my street—for sure—growing up.”
Weise’s success is symptomatic of the biggest advantage the Canadiens have held so far in this series: Their depth.
Brian Flynn and Torrey Mitchell started it in Game 1 and Weise joined the party in a big way in Game 3.
Devante Smith-Pelly’s been a battering ram. Brandon Prust too.
P.K. Subban earns the big bucks, but he knows the value of his blue collar teammates.
“Depth is what wins you hockey games in the playoffs,” Subban affirmed. “We often talk about the stars—so-called star-players on the team–stepping up and making a difference, but if you look at all the Stanley Cup Champion teams over the last couple of years, they’ve all got guys on the third and fourth line that contributed at some point, and scored some big goals, and set up big goals.”
Karlsson leading in unconventional ways
Just about everything Erik Karlsson does is full blast, but seeing him lead the hit parade in the first period with five was remarkable. He finished with six hits, equalling his career high in an NHL contest.
The Senators threw 27 hits in the first, which was notable because they had the puck for most of the frame. Karlsson’s leadership in that category adds dimension to an already impressive reputation. He saved his best check of the night for Beaulieu in the second period. Gilbert set Beaulieu up for the kill with a suicide pass and Karlsson totalled him.
“I’ve seen that lots,” said Cameron about the Senators captain. “He’s been an elite player since he came into the league. He just keeps getting better. He showed us tonight that he can play any way that you want him to play. It was a real gutsy performance.”
Clean hit on Beaulieu
Therrien confirmed that Beaulieu is suffering from an upper-body injury. He finished the second period before parking himself on the bench for the rest of the game.
So let’s get things straight: It was an absolutely clean hit by Karlsson. Weise concurred, and so did Therrien.
Yes, Karlsson’s shoulder connected with Beaulieu’s head, but Beaulieu was hunched over on the play. And no, Karlsson did not leave his feet to deliver the hit.
That’s a tough break for a tough player in Beaulieu, who managed to get back up immediately.
His status is questionable for Game 4.
