Senators at Canadiens
The Ottawa Senators have played their best when there has been little margin for error. After staving off a sweep by scoring the lone goal of the last contest, the Senators look to prevent their season from coming to an end when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Friday in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
"We have a hard road to travel and there's no reason why we can't be in the next game also," said Craig Anderson, who made 28 saves in a 1-0 win on Wednesday and has stopped 75-of-77 shots since relieving Andrew Hammond. Rookie Mike Hoffman scored the lone goal midway into the third period for Ottawa, which also stepped up its game when the regular season was slipping away by posting a 21-3-3 mark in its final 27 contests. Montreal was unable to secure its second sweep of a first-round foe in as many years, but Carey Price isn't hanging his head. "We've just got to do the same thing," Price said. "There's no secret to it; their backs are against the wall."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CNBC, CBC, TVA
ABOUT THE SENATORS: Coach Dave Cameron shuffled Hoffman from the fourth line and paired him with Mika Zibanejad and Bobby Ryan, and the move paid dividends after the rookie beat Price high to the glove side. "I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help this team win," Hoffman told the Ottawa Sun. "I don't decide what line I'm on, I accept the role and the responsibility." Hoffman scored 27 goals during the regular season, trailing only Alexei Yashin (30, 1993-94) among rookies in team history.
ABOUT THE CANADIENS: Montreal hasn't done itself any favors on the power play, failing on all three opportunities in Game 4 while going 1-for-16 in the series. The Canadiens didn't even muster a shot on their first two chances with the man advantage on Wednesday. "It's definitely a concern," Max Pacioretty told the Montreal Gazette of the team's ailing power play. "We have to find ways to keep it simple and have a 5-on-5 mentality."
OVERTIME
1. Montreal has surrendered the game's opening goal in each contest of the series.
2. Ottawa is attempting to become the fifth NHL team to overcome a 3-0 deficit and win a best-of-seven series.
3. All four contests of the series have been decided by one goal.