Senators vs. Canadiens Game 5 results: Anderson shines as Ottawa earns 5-1 win

The Senators stay alive again.

Apr 25, 2015, 1:51 AM UTC

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

The Ottawa Senators seem to have a knack for staving off elimination. Goalie Craig Anderson led the Senators in a 5-1 Game 5 win in Montreal that kept Ottawa's season alive for one more game.

The series now shifts back to Ottawa with the Montreal Canadiens leading, 3-2.

With Anderson stopping nearly every shot sent his way, the Senators were free to open up the offense a bit. Bobby Ryan snapped a goal drought by opening the scoring in the first period, followed shortly thereafter by a nifty goal from defenseman Patrick Wiercioch.

Ottawa took a 2-0 lead into the second period, but the Canadiens finally started fighting back. It was only thanks to Anderson's heroics that the Senators didn't allow a goal in a period they were outshot 11-5. Instead, Erik Karlsson actually extended his team's lead with a snipe from the point midway through the frame.

Montreal would eventually get on the board in the third period, but it was too little, too late. Erik Condra’s goal for Ottawa with five minutes remaining sealed the door on a successful Game 5 for the Senators.

3 Things We Learned

1. Craig Anderson continues to save the Senators.

The veteran netminder has been spectacular since relieving Andrew Hammond of his duties in Game 3. At this point, with the Senators a loss away from elimination, Anderson essentially has to play perfect to keep his team alive. You can't get much closer to perfect than his Game 5 performance, as he stopped 44 of 45 shots to backstop Ottawa's win.

2. Montreal lacked an early killer instinct.

With a raucous home crowd behind them and the Senators on the ropes, you had to expect the Canadiens to come out hungrier than they did. Yes, Anderson played well. But Montreal was as sloppy in the first period as he was brilliant. By the time they kicked into gear in the second period, the Senators were already up by two goals.

3. Bobby Ryan finally broke through.

The Senators winger hadn’t hit the back of the net in sixteen games until Game 5. Sixteen! You might imagine how problematic that could be for a pure goal-scorer like Ryan. So when he scored in the first period of Game 5, it was no wonder he played with more confidence than he has in ages. Oh, and it created this meme.