Josh Anderson's impact on Canadiens' playoff success 'immeasurable'

TAMPA, Fla. — Two goals, three blocks, four giveaways, eight shots, 10 penalty minutes, 21 hits, and an average ice time of 15:32 as a stat line isn’t representative enough of the massive impact Josh Anderson has had in helping his Montreal Canadiens grab a 3-2 series lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But Anderson is part of an exclusive group of players you should just watch while mostly ignoring what the numbers say about him. 

Because Anderson’s underlying stats won’t properly portray how frequently he’s brought his teammates into the fight. They can’t possibly give you an accurate sense of how much pain he’s inflicted in post-whistle scrums. And there’s no way for them to contextualize the feeling he’s given opposing defencemen by bearing down on them at full speed on the forecheck.

“Tom Wilson, Josh Anderson, Brady Tkachuk, Marcus Foligno and Adam Lowry are in a class of their own as far as that goes,” says bruising Detroit Red Wings defenceman Ben Chiarot. “I know when they’re forechecking.”

Especially in the playoffs.

When Chiarot was with the Winnipeg Jets, he played with Lowry against Foligno and the Minnesota Wild in the playoffs. When he was with the Florida Panthers, he played a series against Wilson and the Washington Capitals. And when he was with the Canadiens, he played alongside Anderson and against Lowry and the Jets, helping the team reach the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

Chiarot described Anderson’s impact over that run as “immeasurable.”

“Great teammate,” Chiarot said. “A guy I loved going to battle with. Probably at the top of the league in terms of that size and speed combination. Not fun having him chase you down. He’s a real horse when he gets up to speed.”

Wilson, who’s the thoroughbred of the pack, agrees.

“Nothing but respect for (Anderson),” he said via text message Wednesday, and it resonated for a couple of reasons.

The first is that Wilson has been battling with Anderson ever since both were up-and-comers in the Ontario Hockey League and knows his game probably better than any of his opponents. The twin 225-pounders have traded hits for years, and they’ve exchanged punches on multiple occasions — including most recently at the Bell Centre, in the visitors’ bench during last year’s first-round meeting between his Capitals and the Canadiens.

The second is that Wilson, a Stanley Cup winner who’s terrorized opponents with huge hits, punishing punches and timely goals, has set the gold standard for heavyweight power forwards in the NHL. So no one knows more about the intangible impact players like Anderson can have than he does.

“When you play a physical game, you know your opponent will be conscious of that,” Wilson said. “The physical players that can do this in the most intelligent way will always be the best at impacting the game positively (in playoffs). Sometimes finish the hit, sometimes take the puck, let the opponent rush their play and then turn it over to you. A lot goes into it, but those hits have the ability to change the momentum of a game if executed correctly, and that only gets more amplified in the playoffs.”

It can be muted during the regular season, where opponents meet occasionally rather than every second day.

Though it’s rarely muted for Wilson, which is what makes him a bit of a standout in his category of player.

He turned 32 in March and is coming off a second straight season of more than 30 goals and 60 points. His ability to produce as much while maintaining such a punishing and exacting style as consistently as he has is remarkable, and something not even Anderson can lay claim to.

“Over the year, you’ll see that version of Andy, but it’s impossible to see that version of him over 82 games,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis of the player who had 14 goals and 23 points over 72 games during the regular season. “It’s (important) to understand that as a coach and always try to get him as close to that level as possible. But in the playoffs, he’ll give you more than you’ll get from him in the regular season because the playoffs just bring that out of him. It helps him play to his identity.

“He’s a really important player for us.”

Everyone knows, including Anderson’s biggest rivals.

“Every player knows the opponents that will show up and compete and leave it all out there,” said Wilson. “For me, Josh has always been one of those guys for his team. I think there is a level of respect that is gained between two players competing against each other when you know they’re also willing to do that.”

No matter how much pain is suffered in the process, Anderson has shown he’ll never relent at this time of year.

After suffering an upper-body injury late in the season, the soon-to-be 32-year-old had tone-setting performances through the first three games of this series. He got tangled up with Ryan McDonagh in the second period of Game 4 and came up limping, but quickly returned and has been a thorn in the Lightning’s side ever since.

You can count on Anderson continuing to be one in Game 6 on Friday.

“We have the chance to close the series now,” Anderson said on Wednesday night. “A lot’s on the line here, and we definitely don’t want to come back to Tampa.

“Time to put everything on the line.”

It’s what Anderson has always done in the playoffs.

“You have a goal since you were a little kid, and you’re trying to do everything you can to accomplish that goal and bring everything you possibly can because each and every game is so important,” he said. “Just trying to put everything I have on the ice and just imagine winning.”

No matter what the numbers say, the Canadiens’ chances of doing so would shrink dramatically without him.