Canadiens create lasting memories on playoff ride

MONTREAL — Josh Anderson already had his bags packed for the trip to Tampa before the Canadiens faced the Lightning Monday night at the Bell Centre, facing the possibility of getting swept in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Then he went out and played like someone who really didn’t want to unpack, scoring two goals — including the winner in overtime — as the Canadiens beat the Lightning 3-2 to force Game 5 in Tampa on Wednesday night.

“We didn’t want to end it tonight in front of our fans,” Anderson said after the game. “We expected to go to Tampa tomorrow — I think everybody in that locker room did — and packed our bags this afternoon. Just had that feeling that we were going to win tonight and give ourselves a chance.”

The result of Game 5 was unavailable at deadline, but the Canadiens still had a chance of becoming only the second team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Cup in 1942 after falling behind 3-0 to the Detroit Red Wings.

Anderson’s father, Gary, grew up in Dollard-des-Ormeaux on the West Island of Montreal and was a huge Canadiens fan. Former Canadien Peter Mahovlich is an uncle through marriage to Anderson’s mother, Michelle. So, you can imagine how much Anderson’s family must be enjoying this playoff run that isn’t over yet thanks in large part to him.

The odds are obviously stacked against the Canadiens but, heading into Wednesday, they were 4-0 in the playoffs this year when facing elimination after beating the Maple Leafs three games in a row when they fell behind 3-1 in their first-round series. Three of those four wins came in overtime. In those four elimination games, Carey Price allowed only eight goals and had a .944 save percentage.

The Canadiens were being outshot 11-1 when Anderson scored on his team’s second shot at 15:39 of the first period in Game 4 Monday night.

“He definitely gave us a chance last night to get our feet wet and then start our engine,” Corey Perry said Tuesday morning when asked about Price before the Canadiens headed to the airport for the flight to Tampa. “It was a little slow to begin with. They came out, they put a lot of pressure on us. I don’t know if we gave up too many quality scoring chances … I’ll have to watch again. But … they did take it to us for the first half of that period, but we found a way to be resilient. He made some big saves and then Josh got that big goal to really start us and get us going and feeling comfortable about our hockey game.”

No matter how this wild and crazy COVID-19 season comes to an end for the Canadiens, it’s one they and their fans will never forget.