A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Looking Back at Their Last Playoff Series Victory

By Ken MacMillan

OTTAWA, ON - APRIL 26: Milan Michalek #9 of the Ottawa Senators skates past Max Pacioretty #67 of the Montreal Canadiens as he celebrates a goal by teammate Brendan Gallagher #11 (not pictured) in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre on April 26, 2015 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens eliminated the Ottawa Senators by defeating them 2-0 and move to the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - APRIL 26: Milan Michalek #9 of the Ottawa Senators skates past Max Pacioretty #67 of the Montreal Canadiens as he celebrates a goal by teammate Brendan Gallagher #11 (not pictured) in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre on April 26, 2015 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens eliminated the Ottawa Senators by defeating them 2-0 and move to the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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OTTAWA, ON – APRIL 19: Torrey Mitchell #17 of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON – APRIL 19: Torrey Mitchell #17 of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) /

Game 3

The scene shifted from Montreal to Ottawa and the Habs went with the same lineup that was successful in Game 2. The Senators opted to bench The Hamburglar and went with veteran Craig Anderson who also had a solid season and seemed to always bring his A game against the Canadiens. He certainly shut them down in the 2013 postseason.

Anderson and Price made some early saves, but it was MacArthur that opened the scoring midway through the first period. The Senators were playing a desperate game in front of their home fans, knowing that if they fell behind 3-0 in the series, their chances of coming back were slim. They were running around hitting everything in sight and fired a dozen shots on goal in the first period.

Price played well in the opening frame and Anderson shut the door at the other end. The Sens did not let up physically, and were credited for 27 hits in the first period. Even Karlsson got in on the act, running over Nathan Beaulieu at the Habs blue line.

The Habs fourth line of Prust, Mitchell and Weise persevered through the toughness on display and were able to gain some traction in the Sens zone. The Habs had a few power plays but couldn’t solve Anderson. The Sens goaltender had a .950 save percentage in the 2013 playoff series and looked every bit as good in his first game of this series.

With less than six minutes to play in the third period, Prust fired a shot on goal from a sharp angle. It bounced high in the air and Weise gathered it, before calmly firing it into the net before Anderson could find it.

Early in overtime, an awful turnover by Pacioretty gave Stone a glorious scoring chance. He hammered a slap shot from the slot that was labeled for the top corner but an enormous glove save by Price kept the game going.

The Habs went to the power play shortly after Price’s huge save and had a few chances of their own but could not beat Anderson. Finally, just after the power play expired, the Habs fourth line jumped on the ice. Weise carried the puck into the Sens zone and stopped up near the boards at about the hash marks. He fired a short side wrist shot that should have been one of the easiest of the 49 shots Anderson faced all night.

Somehow, it slipped by his blocker and gave the Habs a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Dale Weise. Overtime hero. Playoff hockey is the best.

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