Josh Anderson ends slump, gives Canadiens series lead
Canadiens forward Josh Anderson picked a good time to break out of his slump.
The 27-year-old had one point in his last 24 games before scoring the tying goal with 1:55 left in the third period and the game-winner in overtime as Montreal claimed a 3-2 win over the Golden Knights on Friday night at the Bell Centre to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup semifinals.
Anderson closed the regular season with 11 straight games without a point. After scoring a goal in the postseason opener against Toronto, he went another 12 games without a point before tapping in Marc-Andre Fleury’s turnover to tie Friday’s game.
He followed that by knocking down a puck at the blue line and crashing hard to the net, where he took a feed from Paul Byron and slipped the puck past a sprawling Fleury with 7:07 left in overtime to ignite a celebration.
“We had to press in the third period, and obviously we got a fortunate bounce on the tying goal,” said Anderson, who had 24 points in the regular season. “In overtime, it looked like we had a lot more energy than them.
“We found a way tonight in a huge game we needed to win.”
They did it despite missing interim coach Dominique Ducharme, who learned hours before the game he had tested positive for COVID-19 and needed to isolate from the team.
“Things went fast, and maybe we were better off that way,” said assistant coach Luke Richardson, who filled in for Ducharme. “We didn’t have too much time to think about it. We’re running things the way Dom runs them, so business as usual.”
Ducharme was leading a coaches meeting at the morning skate when he was informed of the results and immediately isolated from players and staff. He spoke to the team by Zoom before the game and then again after the victory. Richardson said the coaching staff also communicated with him briefly between periods, but in the end it was on Richardson to manage the game.
“I guess I always thought my first chance running an NHL bench would be an exhibition game,” the 52-year-old said. “Instead, it comes in the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in overtime. It’s pretty exciting. We’re just hoping to keep this thing going and get the whole group back together.”
Anderson provided the heroics, but the steady presence of goalie Carey Price kept the game close. The Knights outshot Montreal 30-8 through two periods, yet the game was tied 1-1.
“He was unbelievable,” defenseman and captain Shea Weber said. “Obviously a huge reason we’ve been so successful, and no different tonight. We weren’t very good to start, obviously they made a point to have a good start and they were better than us. We got better as the game went on, but without (Price), we wouldn’t have had a chance to do what we did.”
The Canadiens are 9-0 when scoring at least two goals in the postseason, a testament to Price’s play. They have won nine of their last 10.
“We just don’t quit,” Price said. “That’s the easiest way to explain it. We’ve gone through a lot of adversity, and we keep responding well to it.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
