Sens need one more to oust Bruins
Ryan plays hero again on offence, while Anderson returns to form with 22 saves
The Ottawa Senators have the Boston Bruins down and only one loss away from out.
The Senators pushed the Bruins to the brink of elimination with a 1-0 victory in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final series Wednesday night in Boston. Ottawa now has a 3-1 series lead and can book a ticket to Round 2 with a fourth straight win on Friday at home at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Winger Bobby Ryan, who has led the charge offensively for the Senators, stepped up again with his third goal of the series to break a scoreless tie in the third period. Goaltender Craig Anderson took care of the rest, shutting the door with a solid 22-save performance for his fourth career playoff shutout.
Going to the net, Ryan took a slap pass from captain Erik Karlsson down low and beat Tuukka Rask on the glove side at 5:49 of the third period. Later, Ryan Dzingel hit the post behind Rask, but after taking the lead, the Senators did a good job of making sure they sent this one home unscathed.
Not all the news was good — the Senators lost winger Tom Pyatt in the first period. He didn’t play the puck in the corner and took a questionable hit from Boston’s Kevan Miller. Expect veteran winger Tommy Wingels, a healthy scratch in two straight games, to suit up in Game 5.
The Senators knew the Bruins were going to put up a fight.
“We’re expecting their very best, their most desperate game of the year. If you look at all the teams (on Tuesday) at home trailing, they all (elevated their game) because they were all desperate and gave everything they’ve got,” Senators head coach Guy Boucher said at the morning skate. “We know exactly what’s coming tonight.”
To say Anderson was testy in the morning would be an understatement. He gave short, mostly one-word answers in a scrum with the media that lasted 31 seconds. He is normally co-operative, but took criticism for giving up three goals in the second period of the Senators’ 4-3 overtime victory in Game 3.
There were no complaints about his play Wednesday. Through 40 minutes, neither team was able to find the back of the net. Both goalies stood up to the challenge as the Senators outshot the Bruins 19-17.
It looked like the Bruins had opened the scoring at 9:30 of the second when Charlie McAvoy’s shot from the point appeared to be tipped by Noel Acciari in front and past Anderson. The Senators challenged that the play was offside and the goal didn’t count because it was ruled that Acciari entered the zone early.
Before the game, Karlsson said the Senators were aware of the difficulty of trying to carry home a 3-1 series lead.
“We’re going to take care of our part and we know we’re going to have to play our best game so far in order to have a chance,” he said. “They’ve played three good games and they’ve been tight games. We know what we have to do to be successful.
“At this time of the year, momentum is going to shift and it’s going to shift quick. It’s just a matter of trying to gain it back and maybe that’s one of the small things we can progress at a bit — when we lose that momentum, trying to get it back as quick as possible.”