It was quite a 30 seconds for P.K. Subban and the Canadiens. Brian Flynn had a goal and two assists in his first Stanley Cup Playoff game, and Montreal overcame Subban's game misconduct in the second period for a 4-3 win in Game 1 at Bell Centre. Torrey Mitchell and Tomas Plekanec scored 15 seconds apart to give Montreal a 2-1 lead at 8:08 of the second. Subban assisted on each goal before he was ejected at 8:23 for slashing Mark Stone on the right arm and was assessed a major penalty. Lars Eller scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 11:42 between Ottawa power-play goals by Kyle Turris and Mika Zibanejad during Subban's major penalty, which was served by PA Parenteau.
Flynn, who assisted on Mitchell's goal, got his third point of the second at 17:17 when he scored to give the Canadiens' their third one-goal lead of the period. The goal ended up being the game-winner. Montreal goalie Carey Price, who led the NHL in wins, goals-against average and save percentage, made 30 saves in what many had billed a showdown between the League's top goalie and its hottest goalie, Andrew Hammond. Milan Michalek got credit for giving Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 12:25 of the first period after Andrei Markov directed the puck toward Price and between his pads. The Senators and Canadiens combined for six goals in the second period. Mitchell tied it 1-1 at 7:53 when he chased down a rebound of Flynn's shot behind the Ottawa goal and put a wraparound inside the right post off Hammond's left skate. Bell Centre public-address announcer Michel Lacroix had barely started to announce Mitchell's goal when Plekanec put Montreal ahead 2-1 with his 15th career playoff goal. After Eller was sent off for high sticking at 8:14, Subban slashed Stone as he moved through the slot, before he dropped to the ice after the slash. Stone went to the dressing room but returned late in the power play before the major expired. He remained in the game and played one shift at the start of the third period before leaving and returning later in the period. Turris tied the game 2-2 at 10:36, but Eller restored Montreal's lead at 11:42 when he beat Hammond on a breakaway. Zibanejad tied the game 3-3 at 12:36 when he shot past Price on a rebound of Patrick Wiercioch's shot. The Senators were assessed 26 of their 30 penalty minutes after the game had ended. Turris and MacArthur each was given roughing and misconduct penalties. Roughing penalties also were assessed to Plekanec and Tom Gilbert, who also got a misconduct. MacArthur said emotions were running high, but that discipline will be a key in the series. Canadiens scoring leader Max Pacioretty did not play because of an upper-body injury that sidelined him for Montreal's final two regular-season games.
Mark Stone: "[Subban] tried targeting me a couple times in the first period off faceoffs. I think he knew what he was doing."
Clarke MacArthur: "I think he was getting targeted. That wasn't the first one he took. That was a lumberjack slash. He took a few good ones before that, just noticing from my point of view. Those things happen, and they called the five and we'll see what happens from here."
After answering "yes" when asked if he thought Subban should be subjected to further discipline, Ottawa coach Dave Cameron was asked if he would elaborate. "Do you want to pay my fine? I think it's quite simple. It's a vicious slash on an unprotected part of the body, and you either do one of two things. I think it's an easy solution: You either suspend him or one of their best players gets slashed and you just give us five. It's not that complicated."
Michel Therrien: "It was definitely a slashing penalty, but from our side I don't think it deserved a five minute (major). But I leave that to the discretion of the referees. One thing's for sure: We lacked discipline in the second period. I didn't like the two penalties we took after taking the lead. We'll have to be more disciplined. It could have hurt us, but we got away with it."
Penalties
| 20:00 OTT | Clarke MacArthur Misconduct (10 min) | |
| 20:00 MTL | Tom Gilbert Misconduct (10 min) | |
| 20:00 MTL | Tom Gilbert Roughing against Clarke MacArthur | |
| 20:00 OTT | Clarke MacArthur Roughing against Tomas Plekanec | |
| 20:00 OTT | Kyle Turris Misconduct (10 min) | |
| 20:00 OTT | Kyle Turris Roughing against Tomas Plekanec | |
| 20:00 OTT | Kyle Turris Roughing against Tomas Plekanec | |
| 20:00 MTL | Tomas Plekanec Roughing against Kyle Turris | |
Game 2 - Ottawa @ Montreal 2-3 OT - Fri, Apr 17 Habs Lead 2-0
Alex Galchenyuk scored 3:40 into overtime to give the Canadiens a 3-2 win against the Senators in Game 2 at Bell Centre. Galchenyuk spun around after getting the puck off a rebound of a shot by Brendan Gallagher and sent a shot past Ottawa goalie Andrew Hammond to give Montreal a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs series. Clarke MacArther scored in the first period. Montreal's Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban scored in the second to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead. David Desharnais assisted on both goals. Pacioretty scored a power-play goal at 7:18 in his return from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for Montreal's final two regular season games and the Canadiens' 4-3 win in Game 1 at Bell Centre on Wednesday. He beat Hammond with a low shot between the pads for a power-play goal that drew Montreal even at 1-1. Subban, who got a game misconduct for his major penalty for slashing Mark Stone in Game 1, gave Montreal the lead with a slap shot from the right side into the top right corner past Hammond at 16:30 of the second. Patrick Wiercioch tied it at 2-2 with a power-play goal with 6:31 remaining in the third period. Hammond made 39 saves. Montreal goalie Carey Price made 29 saves, including MacArthur's tipped shot in front of the net moments before Marc Methot was called for holding at the other end of the ice with 1:16 left in the third. Mark Stone who sustained a microfracture and ligament damage to his right wrist, had two assists. Stone missed parts of Game 1 after he was slashed by Subban. Mika Zibanejad generated a second-effort scoring chance in the first period when he lunged for the puck and swiped at it with his stick when Price attempted a poke-check. Price kicked out his right pad to make a toe save. Price could not come up with a glove save on MacArthur's wrist shot from the right side at 18:42 of the first period. The puck fluttered after MacArthur released his shot from the high slot and went past Price's glove to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead after the first period for the second straight game. Canadiens right wing PA Parenteau did not play because of an upper-body injury he sustained Wednesday. He is day-to-day.
Game 3 - Montreal @ Ottawa 2-1 OT - Sun, Apr 19 - Habs Lead 3-0
For the second spring in a row, Dale Weise is finding ways to score big goals for the Canadiens. Weise scored his second goal of the night at 8:47 of overtime to lift the Canadiens to a 2-1 victory against the Senators and a 3-0 lead in their best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series. Weise, who scored with 5:47 left in the third period to tie the game, has five goals in the past two Stanley Cup Playoffs; three of them are game-winners. Weise scored the winner on a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle to the short side of Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson. Senators coach Dave Cameron opted to start Anderson for Game 3 after Andrew Hammond gave up seven goals in the first two games.
Anderson, who played four games after sustaining a bruised hand Jan. 21 and lost the starting job to Hammond, made 47 saves. Canadiens goaltender Carey Price made 33 saves. The Senators came out and played a physical game against the Canadiens. They had 27 hits in the first period, 61 for the game.
For the third game in a row, Ottawa had a 1-0 lead after the first period, this time on a goal by Clarke MacArthur, his second of the playoffs. It was still 1-0 after two periods. The Senators, who were outscored 6-2 in the second period of the first two games, were outplayed but protected the lead this time. Weise tied the game after Anderson stopped a shot by Montreal's Brandon Prust. Play paused a moment when the puck popped up in the air, then Weise batted it down and shot it into the open side of the net. The Senators survived a delay of game penalty to Mark Borowiecki with 3:42 left in the third period after he chipped the puck into the crowd. In overtime, Anderson made a brilliant glove save on Montreal's Jeff Petry after Ottawa's Curtis Lazar was sent to the penalty box for boarding at 6:13, but Weise ended it 2:34 later, moving the Senators to the brink of elimination.
Game 4 - Montreal @ Ottawa 0-1 - Wed, Apr 22 - Habs Lead 3-1
The Senators keep finding ways to keep their season alive. Ottawa avoided being swept out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 win at Canadian Tire Centre. Mike Hoffman scored at 9:05 of the third period and goaltender Craig Anderson made 28 saves for Ottawa. The Senators, who have had little margin for error the past three months, finally found a way to beat the Canadiens and goaltender Carey Price. Hoffman scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal after some good hustle by Mika Zibanejad. He hit Tom Gilbert as Gilbert, playing his off-side, tried to backhand the puck out of the zone along the boards from the corner. The puck was knocked down at the blue line, and Cody Ceci passed it to Hoffman in the high slot. Zibanejad went from the corner to the front of the net and screened Price as Hoffman's shot went in high on the glove side. Senators coach Dave Cameron moved Hoffman from the fourth line to play with Zibanejad and Bobby Ryan. Hoffman led the Senators with 27 goals in the regular season, but the rookie's defensive play dictates how far up in the lineup he will play. Cameron liked what he saw, so he felt comfortable making the shift. All four games in the series have been decided by one goal. Anderson, playing his second game of the series after Andrew Hammond played Games 1 and 2 at Montreal, faced down Brandon Prust, who had a shorthanded breakaway late in the second period. Prust deked to Anderson's right and hit the outside of the post. Prust said he ran out of room when Anderson threw his right leg out. Anderson stopped 75 of the 77 shots he faced in Games 3 and 4. The Senators came the closest they have to playing a 60-minute game in the series. After struggling in the second period in Games 1-3 (the Canadiens outshot the Senators 52-26 in the period), the Senators outshot the Canadiens 11-10 in Game 4. The Canadiens power play continued to struggle. It was 0-for-3 in Game 4 and is 1-for-16 in the series.
Game 5 - Ottawa @ Montreal 1-5 - Fri, Apr 24 - Habs Lead 3-2
The Senators are halfway to another dramatic comeback. Craig Anderson stopped 45 of 46 shots, and Bobby Ryan scored his first two goals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to help Ottawa defeat the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Bell Centre. Patrick Wiercioch, Erik Karlsson and Erik Condra had the other goals for the Senators, who won their second straight elimination game and trail the Canadiens 3-2 in the best-of-7 series.
Ottawa was 14 points out of a Stanley Cup Playoff position when it began a 23-4-4 season-ending run to qualify. Canadiens goalie Carey Price, who was named a Vezina Trophy finalist Friday, allowed five goals on 25 shots. Anderson, who defeated Montreal 1-0 in Game 4 on Wednesday, had his shutout streak end at 101:44 when Canadiens defenseman Tom Gilbert scored early in the third period to make it 3-1. Anderson has stopped 120 of 123 shots in three starts since taking over from Andrew Hammond, who lost the first two games in Montreal after going 20-1-2 during the regular season. Ryan got his first point of the series, his first goal in more than a month, with a shot from the left side at 9:29 of the first period. Wiercioch scored his second goal unassisted at 15:39 to give the Senators the first lead of more than one goal in the series. Karlsson made it 3-0 with a power-play goal at 14:29 of the second period. The Canadiens went 0-for-3 on the power play; they have one goal in 19 opportunities in the series. Montreal, which has allowed the first goal in every game, took the first seven shots before Ryan scored on the Senators' second shot, using traffic in front of Price to grab the lead. Ryan, who hadn't scored in 16 games since March 19, put a shot between Price's left arm and the left side of his body and the puck slid slowly behind him over the goal line. Wiercioch was patient with the puck as bodies assembled in front of Price before beating him with a wrist shot to make it 2-0, his fourth point of the series. Karlsson drove a slap shot past Price from the left point for his fourth point. Brandon Prust got minor penalties for roughing and cross-checking at 17:57 of the third period when he and Anderson got into a skirmish in the crease. Wiercioch got a roughing minor. Eric Gryba, his defense partner, and Subban were given misconduct penalties. Clarke MacArthur left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. Jean-Gabriel Pageau limped to the bench after he blocked a Subban slap shot at 9:15 of the third; he remained on the bench and did not play another shift. Cameron said MacArthur and Pageau are day-to-day. Former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson visited the dressing room after the game.
Game 6 - Montreal @ Ottawa - Sun, Apr 26 - Habs Win 4-2
Carey Price made 43 saves to help the Canadiens to a 2-0 victory at Canadian Tire Centre, eliminating the Senators from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Montreal will face the winner of the first-round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings in the second round. Price, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, bounced back from a 5-1 loss in Game 5. Anderson was instrumental in Ottawa's attempt to rally from a 3-0 series deficit, making saves on 73 of 74 shots he faced in Games 4 and 5. But the Canadiens ended the Senators' season of comebacks in Game 6. Ottawa was 14 points out of the final postseason position in the Eastern Conference in February, but finished the season 23-4-4 to earn the first wild card into the playoffs. Price made a big save on Senators forward Kyle Turris with 4:32 to go in the first period and was at his best in the final minutes as the Canadiens killed a tripping penalty to Jacob De La Rose.
Ottawa had nine shots in the last three minutes of the game, but Price made saves on the Senators' best chances from Turris and center Mika Zibanejad. Max Pacioretty, who scored an empty-net goal with less than one second left in the third, is happy Price was on his side considering the effort from the Senators in Game 6. The Canadiens scored the first goal of the game for the first time in the series, and Price made it stand up. It looked like the Senators had tied the game at 6:55 of the second period when Jean-Gabriel Pageau knocked in a loose puck, but the play had been blown dead. The puck trickled away from Price after he stopped a shot by Mark Borowiecki.
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