Bobby Ryan gives Senators 3-1 series lead with third period goal (video)

Bobby Ryan has shown up for the Ottawa Senators lately, and his goal Wednesday night was clutch.

In 62 regular season games this year, Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan had just 25 points (13 goals and 12 assists). But a shot at redemption has come during the playoffs, and the Boston Bruins have been victimized by Ryan’s resurgence.

Ryan ended the regular season with a goal in the finale, then he scored Ottawa’s only goal in a Game 1 loss to Boston. He followed that with an assist in Game 2, as the Senators evened the series. Then in Game 3 Ryan tallied two points, including the game-winning goal in overtime.

Wednesday night’s Game 4 was scoreless into the third period, as goaltenders Craig Anderson and Tuukka Rask combined for 36 saves in the first two periods (just 10 combined shots on goal in the second period). Then, less than six minutes into the final period, the Senators were able to keep the puck in Boston’s end for awhile and get control of the action. Defenseman Erik Karlsson looked set to line up a shot, but Rask seemed to struggle in tracking the puck. The Bruins goalie drifted just outside the paint of the crease, and left himself very vulnerable.

Ryan was in the right place at the right time, and Karlsson’s deft shot/pass set him up to do little more than tap the puck past a sprawling, off-balance Rask and a diving Zdeno Chara. Ryan now has three goals and five points in the series, including back-to-back game-winning goals after scoring zero game-winners during the regular season.

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With a 3-1 series lead, the Senators will head home for Game 5 Friday night with a chance to move on. They now have seven wins in eight games against the Bruins this season, so if there’s a psychological advantage to be had Ottawa has it.