Weise lifts Canadiens over Senators 2-1 in OT
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) Dale Weise's first goal of the playoffs sent the game to overtime. His second sent the Montreal Canadiens to a victory - and a commanding series lead.
Weise scored the tying goal late in the third period and then won it 8:47 into overtime, leading the Canadiens past the Ottawa Senators 2-1 on Sunday night in their first-round playoff series.
''I don't know if you can call me (clutch) yet,'' said Weise, who also had an overtime winner in the playoffs last year against Tampa Bay. ''I thought I had some good chances early in the series and just couldn't put them in - a couple of 2-on-1s and hit posts. I don't know what it is, just every game gets so intense, you're so focused.''
Montreal now has a chance to complete a four-game sweep Wednesday, with Game 4 in Ottawa.
Weise skated in on the left side and beat Craig Anderson with a shot inside the near post. Many of the Senators fans in the stands urged officials to call for a hand pass by Brandon Prust on the play, but replays showed the puck went off the glass and not Prust. So, the goal stood - and so did the Canadiens' big victory.
''Any time you score a winner like that, it's pretty special,'' Weise said. ''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 sent the game to overtime with his goal with 5:47 remaining in the third. Torrey Mitchell assisted on both goals, and Carey Price made 33 saves.
''There's guys that have made careers on that, just finding a way to get it done,'' Montreal's P.K. Subban said of Weise. ''And listen, he's found a way.''
Clarke MacArthur opened the scoring for the Senators at 11:28 of the first period. Anderson, making his first start of the playoffs after Andrew Hammond started the first two games, made 47 saves in the loss.
''The guys battled so hard, played so well and to come up short is frustrating,'' Anderson said. ''I gave the team a chance to win, and that's my job. It's frustrating I wasn't able to get the win for the guys. We've got to put this behind us and get ready to go.''
Montreal dominated at times in the second and third periods, outshooting Ottawa 31-15 through the final 40 minutes of regulation.
''It's one of those games when even though we did a lot of good things, but in the end we didn't win the game,'' Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson said, ''and that's what matters.''
The Senators scored when 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 deked Price and slid in is second of the series.
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.
''It's frustrating,'' Ottawa's Kyle Turris said. ''We had a real good first period. We kind of let up in the second and got away from how we were playing in the first. We were coming back with a better third, but it was frustrating they tied it up late - and frustrating goal in overtime.''
Montreal defenseman Nathan Beaulieu took a big, open-ice hit from Karlsson, with contact to the head, in the second period. He finished the period, but did not return for the third. Coach Michel Therrien said only that he has an upper-body injury.
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.
