Brendan Gallagher scored the winning goal of Game Six at 13:26 of the first period as the Canadiens eliminated the Senators from the playoffs with a 2-0 win in Ottawa Sunday.
Gallagher freed himself from an awkward skate entanglement with Zack Smith's stick, rushed to the net and batted home a shot from the point that bounced off his upper body. Tomas Plekanec and Greg Pateryn assisted on the goal.
The Canadiens scored an empty-net goal with less than a second remaining as Max Pacioretty tossed the puck the full-length of the ice for the second goal.
The Senators put frantic pressure on the Canadiens but Carey Price turned back all tries in a brilliant peformance with a 43-save shutout. The Habs put only 20 pucks on Craig Anderson in the Ottawa net.
A late tripping call on Jacob de la Rose gave Ottawa a last chance on the power play, and near the end of it pulled Anderson for a two-skater advantage.
Montreal Canadiens' Carey Price (31) makes a save against Ottawa Senators' Kyle Turris (7) (not shown) during the first period of an NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey game, Sunday April 26, 2015, in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Senators' fans were upset after Jean-Gabriel Pageau batted home a rebound after referee Chris Lee blew the whistle while the puck was still bouncing around in front of Price. The goal did not count, as the whistle had already been blown.
Praise for Senators flows in post-game comments
Immediately after the game Carey Price offered tribute to the Senators, who were shut out for the first time in the entire season. "They worked so hard for so long to even get here. You have to tip your hat to them," he said. "It seems like the playoffs are about who gets the lucky bounce and tonight we got a couple of them."
P.K. Subban said the drama was palpable on the ice. "This is what people pay good money to watch. What a battle. We had to grind it out at the end of the game. They have one of the best power plays in the league right now but we got it done, Carey Price did it for us," said Subban.
Subban's fellow Assistant Captain Max Pacioretty also lauded Price. "Carey was the best player in the building tonight,” said Pacioretty, who said he was happy to be on the ice during the furious last-minute pressure. “When I was on the bench I was trying to look away. In that situation you’d much rather be on the ice than on the bench and I was thankful I was on the ice to help my team win.”
Senators' Coach Dave Cameron saluted his team's effort after the game. “A gallant run by us but once you get over the loss it becomes a little easier because you know the team emptied its tank for you. I’m extremely proud of this group of guys,” said Cameron.
Montreal coach Michel Therrien was generous with his praise for both sides in a post-game press conference. “(Ottawa Coach) Dave Cameron, his coaching staff and his players did a fantastic job to find a way to get to the playoffs. It was outstanding and even in the playoffs they were really close games. It was a good series. Tonight they gave their best effort and good thing for us we had Carey Price on our side and he was a big difference,” said Therrien.
Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson was stoic about the goal refused Pageau after the whistle blew quickly.
“The quick whistles, they happen. It was one of those things where it was such a routine save where very few of those are ever going to come out. It was unfortunate but that was the call and you move on from it, “said Anderson.
Ottawa Captain Erik Karlsson considered Price the difference maker. “Price played a pretty solid game and that’s what you’re going to get when you’re up against that kind of goaltender. They did a good job in not getting frustrated and we did too but at the end of the day they scored one more goal than we did.”
The Canadiens will play either the Detroit Red Wings or the Tampa Bay Lightning in the next round. The Wings lead the series 3-2 and will try to elminate the Lightning Monday in Detroit.
Notes: P.A. Parenteau returned to the Montreal lineup for the first time since Game 1. Brian Flynn sat out. . . There was concern over Clarke MacArthur, who sat out the third period of Game 5, but he played for Ottawa. . . The Canadiens ended the series 1 for 20 on the power play. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke with media in Ottawa before the game. He addressed many subjects, including the league's desire to host an outdoor game in Ottawa. Bettman also says there is no team likely to relocate at this time.
More insight below as CTV Montreal's Brian Wilde tweets his observations.
Canadiens 2, Senators 0
First Period
1. Montreal, Gallagher 1 (Pateryn, Plekanec) 13:26.
Penalties -- Markov Mtl (high-sticking) 2:34, Mitchell Mtl (holding) 9:40.
Second Period
No Scoring.
Penalties -- Markov Mtl (tripping) 15:52.
Third Period
2. Montreal, Pacioretty 2 (unassisted) 19:59 (en).
Penalties -- MacArthur Ott (high-sticking) 3:42, De La Rose Mtl (tripping) 16:46.
Shots on goal by
Montreal 13 3 4 -- 20
Ottawa 13 16 12 -- 41
Goal --
Power plays (goal-chances)Montreal: 0-1; Ottawa: 0-4.
at Ottawa.
