OTTAWA -- Dale Weise forced overtime with a late goal and then scored 8:46 into overtime to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night.
Montreal leads the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series 3-0 and can finish it off in Game 4 Wednesday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Weise skated in on the left side and beat Craig Anderson with a shot inside the near post. The 20,500 fans screamed for a whistle on what appeared to be a hand pass by Brandon Prust on the play, but the goal stood.
"Any time you score a winner like that it's pretty special," said Weise. "I got pretty excited about that first one, too, that was a big goal. I just felt like we were pressuring and pressuring and we needed a good bounce like that to put the puck in the net. And thank goodness it was me."
Weise had tied it with 5:47 left in regulation time for Montreal, which outshot the Senators 49-34.
Clarke MacArthur scored in the first for Ottawa, which has struck first in all three games of the series.
Ottawa Senators forward Clarke MacArthur celebrates a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period of game 3 of first round Stanley Cup NHL playoff hockey action in Ottawa on Sunday, April 19, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The Senators opted to go with veteran Anderson in goal over Andrew Hammond, whose stellar play led their late push for a playoff spot. Anderson was sharp, stopping 47 shots.
Ottawa came out hitting every Canadien that moved, led by their captain Erik Karlsson and tough guy Chris Neil, who made his series debut. They took a 10-4 lead in shots and a 1-0 lead in the game.
Ottawa Senators forward Mark Borowiecki (74) hits Montreal Canadiens defenceman Tom Gilbert (77) during the first period of game 3 of first round Stanley Cup NHL playoff hockey action in Ottawa on Sunday, April 19, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The Senators scored when Montreal defenceman P.K. Subban went for a hit on Karlsson and Mark Stone was able to slip the puck in front of the Montreal net, where two Ottawa players were parked. MacArthur put a deke on Carey Price and slid in is second of the series at 11:28 of the first period.
The Canadiens turned it around in the second, outshooting Ottawa 19-6, but couldn't get one past Anderson.
It took until their 36th shot, at 14:13 of the third, for Weise to tie the game as he slapped one into an open side off a pass from Prust with a crowd of players jostling near the net.
"There's guys that have made careers on that, just finding a way to get it done and listen, he's found a way," Subban said about Weise.
Montreal Canadiens forward Dale Weise (22) celebrates his goal against the Ottawa Senators with teammates Brandon Prust (8) and Alexei Emelin (74) during the third period of game 3 of first round Stanley Cup NHL playoff hockey action in Ottawa on Sunday, April 19, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Montreal defenceman Nathan Beaulieu took a shattering, open-ice hit from Karlsson, with contact to the head, in the second frame. He finished the period, but did not return for the third.
Notes -- Montreal's P.A. Parenteau sat out a second game with an upper-body injury. . . With Chris Neil in the lineup, Alex Chiasson sat out for Ottawa. . . The Senators won both home games against Montreal in their 2013 playoff series. . . A scoreboard tribute and a moment of silence were held for Senators assistant coach Mark Reeds, who died last week of cancer.
