OTTAWA -- A quick look at Game 3 Sunday night at Canadian Tire Centre between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators:
OT again: For a second straight game, these two closely matched divisional rivals needed extra time, Canadiens winger Dale Weise tying it 1-1 with 5:47 to go in the third period. Weise then capped the night with a wrist shot that beat Craig Anderson 8:47 into overtime, igniting quite the cheers from the Habs fans in the building and perhaps crushing the souls of the Senators, who really needed this one to make it a series. Weise scored some big goals in last spring's playoffs and once again showed the knack to provide a clutch moment or two.
Bring your hardhats: Senators GM Bryan Murray gets his blue-collar, old-school outlook from his hometown of Shawville, Quebec. Well, his Senators brought their Shawville work boots right off the hop Sunday evening, hitting everything that moved. The Sens had a whopping 46 hits through two periods compared to 25 by the Canadiens. Even silky smooth captain Erik Karlsson, known more for his all-world skating and passing skills than his physicality, got into it with a pair of big hits on Habs blue-liner Nathan Beaulieu, the second of which in the second period left Beaulieu dazed and brought the crowd to its feet. With the return of Chris Neil to Ottawa’s lineup, the message was clear, the Senators are going to get their pound of flesh out of the Habs, win or lose, before this series is over.
Price was right: Carey Price is now beaten against two different Sens goalies in this series, proving once again that trying to match up to the best goalie in the world is no easy feat. Price stopped 33 of 34 shots Sunday night and once again looked oh-so-confident.
Karlsson was terrific: His Senators lost but captain Karlsson was insanely good, throwing his body around but also dominating at each end with his incredible all-world game. Just such a pleasure to watch this guy play.
Habs hard to intimidate: Thing is, the Canadiens have seen this movie before in their battles with the Boston Bruins. They proved yet again in their seven-game series win over the Bruins last spring that trying to push them around and rip their heads off isn’t going to work. Ottawa played a very good physical game, and it certainly fueled the Senators’ own energy and confidence, which is good for them, but what it did not do is make the Canadiens wilt. Instead, after a very physical first period by the Senators, the Habs came out and dominated on the shot clock, 19-6 in the middle period, spending more time in the Senators zone and dictating most of the game for a long stretch.
Anderson solid: Senators head coach Dave Cameron made the gutsy decision to replace late-season phenom Andrew Hammond with veteran Craig Anderson in goal and that decision looked good in Game 3. Anderson, who was outstanding in beat the Habs in the 2013 playoffs, was rock solid Sunday evening despite the loss.
What's next: Game 4, with the Senators facing elimination, goes Wednesday here at the Canadian Tire Centre, which means a pair of off-days between games. Montreal is taking its team to the resort town Mont Tremblant, Quebec, about a two-hour drive from here.