Montreal, Canada

Goaltender Craig Anderson stopped a career playoff-high 48 shots to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens Thursday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at Bell Centre.

Anderson already had 30 saves before Rene Bourque and Brendan Gallagher tallied goals one minute apart in the second period to give the Canadiens a 2-1 advantage.

Luckily for the Senators, Jakob Silfverberg, Marc Methot and Guillaume Latendresse scored in the third period to carry them to an easy win and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Erik Karlsson added a goal in the first period for the Senators, who will gun for a 2-0 lead in Game 2 Friday.

Montreal goaltender Carey Price matched Anderson's intensity through the first two periods before giving up two early goals in the opening 5:20 of the third quarter. He finished with 27 saves.

The Canadiens also lost center Lars Eller after he was hit by Senators defenseman Eric Gryba at 13:28 of the second period.

Eller was about to receive a pass from Raphael Diaz pass when Gryba appeared to clip him in the jaw at the Montreal blue line, sending the defenseman face first on to the ice.

A significant pool of blood formed as Eller lay face down on the ice for several minutes. He taken off the ice on a stretcher and transported to a hospital.

Later, it was reported that Eller suffered a head and facial injury. He also lost several teeth and had a broken nose.

Gryba was given a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct.

After the incident, Gallagher scored his first career playoff goal on the ensuing power play when he knocked a Tomas Plekanec offering into the net to make it a 2-1 game for the Canadiens.

However, Silfverberg tallied his first career playoff goal at 3:27 of the third on a long slap shot that went through Price's legs to tie the game at two score apiece.

Methot followed it with a slap shot from the blue line that escaped Price's glove before Guillaume Latendresse added an insurance goal at 13:55.

 

NHL Suspends Sens' Eric Gryba two games for hit on Habs' Lars Eller

The NHL has suspended Ottawa Senators defenseman Eric Gryba for two games for an illegal check to the head of Montreal Canadiens forward Lars Eller Thursday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series in Montreal.

The NHL's Department of Player Safety suspended Gryba after he was assessed a major penalty for interference and game misconduct for hitting Eller at 13:28 of the second period.

Eller was about to receive a pass from Raphael Diaz pass when Gryba appeared to clip him in the jaw at the Montreal blue line, sending the center face first on to the ice.

Eller laid face down on the ice for several minutes before he was taken off the ice on a stretcher and transported to a hospital.

After spending a night in the hospital for observation, Eller went home Friday morning. The Canadiens said the Danish forward suffered a concussion as well as facial and dental injuries.

Gryba received a total of 15 penalty minutes for the hit, including a five-minute interference call that Montreal converted into one power-play goal.

Gryba will be eligible to return in Game 4 of the series.

 

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Craig Anderson Stops 48 Shots as Senators Top Canadiens