Craig Anderson halts Canadiens’ charge in Game 4 Ottawa win

It appears the Andrew Hammond era for Ottawa as a starting goaltender is all but over, which is not necessarily a bad situation for the Senators in this context. 

Craig Anderson unofficially reclaimed his starting job with a 28-save performance to stave off elimination for the Sens in a 1-0 shutout win over the Montreal Canadiens. Anderson started Game 3 and stopped 47 of 49 Montreal shots on goal in an overtime loss, but it was still sort of in question as to whether he would start Wednesday.

The series is now at 3-1 in favor of Montreal. 

From the Ottawa Sun:

This is where it counts the most. You just want to go out there and give the team a chance to win,” said Anderson. “If it ends up being a 0-0 game, great. If it’s a 3-3 game, you want to make the next save so the team has the opportunity to go down and score.”

Still, the Senators aren’t ready to declare they’re back in this series.

“It’s a little early yet. We’re just going to enjoy this win for two or three minutes and then come back ready to work (Thursday) and get focused for the next one. It’s only going to get harder,” added Anderson.

Mike Hoffman was the only goal scorer of the game. Montreal’s Carey Price stopped 31 of 32 shots on goal. 

So let’s say you’re an Ottawa Senators fan. Would trade the ability to throw a hamburger on the ice for a playoff win? I think this is an easy decision. Clearly at the moment, Anderson gives the Senators the best chance to win. Hammond was a nice story, but unless there’s some crazy ‘stand-on-his-head’ relief appearance in the next game, it’ll be Anderson tasked to with trying to help Ottawa come back.

As for the Canadiens, this just gives them a chance to clinch the series at home.

Said Max Pacioretty to the Montreal Gazette:

“Their backs were against the wall and they played some great hockey. But it’s no excuse for us taking our foot off the gas. They definitely deserved that win, but going into the third anything could have happened. They were the better team in the third and that’s the difference.

“It’s frustrating, but you know what? You go back home now and we try to close it out at home.”

Montreal is still the heavy favorite … or favourite in this All-Canada series. 

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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