Senators not dead yet, send 3-2 series back to Ottawa
“[We’re] not dead” – Monty Python and The Holy Grail.
Also (possibly) said by the Ottawa Senators.
Today just so happens to be the 40th anniversary of one of the best movies of all time. As a tribute to the classic line in the film, the Senators kept their playoff run on life support by forcing a Game 6 with a 5-1 over Montreal.
You saw that right. 5 goals scored by Ottawa. Every single one of them was on Vezina nominee Carey Price. At home.
It started midway through the first with a goal from the guy who needed to score in this series to stop the millions of questions as to why he hadn’t scored yet: Bobby Ryan. Ryan sent a wrist shot on net that hit Price and dribbled backwards into the net.
Looking back, it was a pretty good indication of the night ahead for Price and the Habs.
About five minutes later, Price was left helpless as he was screened by almost everybody in red and in white. Patrick Wiercioch’s wrister from near the blueline went over Price’s shoulder and in the net. It would stand as the game winning goal.
Erik Karlsson scored on the power play in the second period to put the game close to out of reach for the Canadiens at 3-0. What do you think about that Mr. Karlsson? From Steph:
Montreal brought hope back to life just 1:44 into the third period. Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson, annoyed by Dale Weise for invading his crease, gives the Habs forward a nice whack in the back of the knees for his troubles. Anderson’s preoccupation with Weise left him unprepared for a Tom Gibert slapshot.
Despite cutting into Ottawa’s lead, it would be too much for the Canadiens to overcome.
Erik Condra scored on a breakaway to put the Sens back up by three goals. Bobby Ryan scored his second of the game on the power play to ice it at 5-1.
In between Condra and Ryan’s second goal, there was a general ‘game is out of hand’ meltdown by the Habs.
It started with Brandon Prust taking a nasty whack at Anderson and the goaltender stood his ground. Again, from Steph:
Prust then got into it with Wiercioch, earning both gentlemen a trip to the box for roughing. Away from the action, PK Subban and Eric Gryba had a wrestling match resulting in the literal turtling of Subban in his gear (shown above). Both guys received game misconducts and were yapping at each other, and the other’s benches, as they left the ice.
Afterward, Senators coach David Cameron had some choice words for Montreal and their behavior after the game. From John Lu of TSN Montreal, “A sure sign of frustration is when they take cheap shots at your goalie … I’ve known Prust for a long time and what he did was cheap.”
Cameron also noted that Clark MacArthur and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are day-to-day with lower body injuries. MacArthur did not come out to play the third. Pageau was visually hobbled as he blocked a Subban shot on the penalty kill.
Not one to mince words, Subban spoke to Pageau’s possible injury in the post-game:
Could that be more of a line straight out of the WWE or what…
Anyway, closing the gap in the series to 3-2, the Sens aren’t dead yet. However, it remains to be seen if the Habs can follow-up with another classic line delivered later in the scene, “Well, [they] will be soon…”
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.
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