Anderson in zone with season on line
Craig Anderson was in full Game 6 mode.
After a relatively quiet first two periods, the Senators’ veteran goalie made huge stop after huge stop in the third period, with the Penguins pressing hard to break a 1-1 tie.
There was the Bryan Rust semi-break. There was the point-blank shot by Matt Cullen. Simply remarkable.
Suddenly, you were reminded of Anderson’s words on Wednesday, just before the Senators left Ottawa.
“You never know when it’s going to happen again,” the 36-year-old said. “As a young player, you always think there’s always next year. When you get to be a guy my age, you run out of next years.
“You make the most of your moments and if it’s in your cards to be one of the select few to be able to be in the opportunity we’re in, it’s definitely an honour. You’ve got to enjoy the moment, but stay in the moment.
“As much as you love to say there’s always next year, you can ask every single player that’s been in my position — the ticking time clock, it ends.”
And then, almost as suddenly, the bubble burst for Anderson. Just 25 seconds after Dion Phaneuf took the Senators’ first penalty of the night, Justin Schultz took a simple wrist shot that eluded Zack Smith up high, then a Marc Methot-Chris Kunitz cluster down low, before sneaking inside Anderson’s glove-side post. He extended his arms like he was screened. Oh well. Maybe next year. But just as the Senators have done all season, they surprised everybody. Ryan Dzingel, who had helped keep the puck out of the net on the Rust break, put it in the Penguins net behind Matt Murray, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday.
The shot by Erik Karlsson from the point hit the post, then Murray’s back, then to Dzingel, who had circled by the end boards and was left alone to bang it in.
Minutes later, Anderson made a save off defenceman Brian Dumoulin (I think) that qualified as unbelievable. Sprawled, facing the net, the puck slid under him but not past his big goal stick.
At that point, you thought that this would be the year for Craig Anderson and the Senators. Starts and stops: Mark Stone returned to his old form with an exceptional game. He used a soft touch to flip the puck over Murray for his second-period goal on a rush he kept alive by dragging his leg long enough to stay onside before Erik Karlsson put him in alone. He was anticipating and stealing pucks like his old self. Yes, it was a great night for Stone — until he took a knee-on-knee hit by Carter Rowney early in the third that sent him to the dressing room. No penalty called on the play. Stone returned a short time later ... The lone guy back on a two-on-one, Karlsson was positioned to cut off the pass from Conor Sheary to Kunitz, with his stick on the ice, until he lifted it for a split second. It was long enough for Sheary to feed Kunitz, who relayed it behind Anderson. Between periods: Best chance of the first period belonged to Evgeni Malkin, who had a clear shot from the bottom of the leftwing faceoff circle, but fanned ... Anderson had Lady Luck on his side after robbing Sheary, who likely would have scored on the rebound had the puck not hopped over his stick … You couldn’t help but feel good for Dzingel, who had been phased out of the top-six job he had until Clarke MacArthur returned in the last week of the season and was scratched four times in the playoffs. Winning the Power Ball wouldn’t have made him happier than he was scoring the tying goal. Things that make you go hmmm: Clarke MacArthur threw a change-up at Murray on a firstperiod chance. Didn’t even know he had that pitch … Two blocks from the arena, a “homeless” guy held a sign asking for spare change. I was going to help him out, but I didn’t want to interrupt him while he was texting on his iPhone ... The loudest noise by a crowd in this series came from the Penguins faithful before the anthems. They were allowed to let go, uninterrupted by announcements like the ones that often kill such an uproar in Ottawa … For some reason, the summary sheets handed out in the press box here are in French. I mean, it is Pittsburgh … Interesting to look at the two benches during a TV timeout with 11:23 left in the second. All the Senators were huddled around, listening to Guy Boucher. Nobody was talking on the Penguins side. Back to the points: Watching Fredrik Claesson stop Phil Kessel seamlessly on a second-period rush is a reminder of how far the 24-year-old Swede has come in a short period of time. So is seeing him on the power play in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final … The 37-year-old Kunitz had a very strong second period, including a close-in chance that was snuffed by Anderson, his first goal of the playoffs and a blocked Cody Ceci shot that earned him a roaring ovation … The Senators were being outhit 44-23 after the first overtime period. Butt ends: Jean-Gabriel Pageau finished the series winning six of eight opening-game faceoffs off Crosby, including Game 7’s and its redo five seconds later ... Crosby was 2-6 on first period draws ... Chris Kelly won his first faceoff in more than a month, then went immediately to the bench on his shortest of three first-period shifts … The first period followed the Senators’ script, except for getting just one late, harmless shot on the only power play of the initial 20. They were up 5-4 in shots with 30 seconds left, but the Penguins had a couple late to take over the lead … Pageau was 11-2 in the circles after two periods, then 15-8 after three.