Ottawa’s Craig Anderson had 48 saves in the Senators’ win over Montreal. (Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)

By Brian Cazeneuve

The Ottawa Senators came out strong in Game 1 of their playoff series against the Canadiens, getting a 4-2 win in Montreal to take a 1-0 series lead. Here’s a breakdown of some major moments from the opening game.

• Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson made a fabulous play to slice through the Montreal defense and produce the first goal of the game. Last season’s Norris Trophy winner always looks like he’s just gliding along, not really pushing the play up the ice as fast as he is. It doesn’t matter how many times opponents have seen it or how many of them know it’s coming; everybody seems to underestimate Karlsson’s speed. By the time he had shifted his stride from his own end of the ice and into the neutral zone, it was already too late for the chasing Canadiens to close the gap on him. Karlsson split the space between Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec and then skipped the puck to Kyle Turris on his left side – it looked more like a lost puck than a pass, but who’s counting – and then took a return feed from Turris and tipped it behind Carey Price. How many times this season and last has Karlsson split forecheckers and defenses who misjudge his speed?

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Erik Karlsson’s near-miraculous return from injury gives Ottawa an added dimension. (Jana Chytilova/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

EAST PREVIEWS: Pens-Islanders | Canadiens-Senators | Capitals-Rangers | Bruins-Leafs

WEST PREVIEWS: Hawks-Wild | Ducks-Red Wings | Canucks-Sharks | Blues-Kings

Regular-season recaps

Jan. 30: Senators 5, Canadiens 1

Feb. 3: Canadiens 2, Senators 1

Feb. 25: Senators 2, Canadiens 1 (SO)

March 13: Canadiens 4, Senators 3

Notable injuries

Canadiens: D Alexei Emelin (knee, out for season)

Senators: F Jason Spezza (back, indefinite); Chris Phillips (lower body, day-to-day)

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Erik Karlsson will likely qualify as the comeback story of the 2013 season. (Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

In what has to be the unlikeliest comeback since Arrested Development, the Ottawa Senators announced this morning that Erik Karlsson will return to the lineup tonight as they visit Washington to play the Capitals.

This is the same guy who was supposed to be out for the season after being criminally assaulted by Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke (well, at least according to Senators owner and CSI fan Eugene Melnyk).

Unbelievable.

Karlsson was expected to miss 4-6 months after having surgery on Feb. 14 to repair a 70-percent laceration to the Achilles’ tendon in his left leg. By skating tonight, he’ll have made it back in 10 weeks.

He might be great at hockey and all, but we better make sure that Karlsson’s prime directive isn’t to kill Linda Hamilton. The only thing I’ve seen heal that quickly was a T-1000.

No doubt it’s a coincidence that he returns to a team that’s fighting to maintain its hold on a playoff spot after losing six of 10 and seeing their lead on ninth-place Winnipeg whittled to a single point.

The Sens have two more games after tonight: Saturday against Philadelphia and Sunday night in Boston. It’ll be worth watching to see if he’s holding up well enough to go back-to-back.

The Rangers have ground to make up, but an easy schedule could send them to the playoffs. (Bill Wippert/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Herewith, the second of our looks at the final week of regular season action. Today, the Eastern Conference. Our Western Conference playoff breakdown is here.

In the wake of Saturday’s action, five teams have officially clinched berths in the Eastern playoffs, leaving three spots up for grabs.

The Islanders are in the catbird seat after a thrilling 5-4 shootout win in Winnipeg on Saturday. The Devils are drawing their last breath. That leaves the Sens, Rangers and Jets to battle it out for the final two spots.

Here’s a look at how each of these teams closes out the season and how their chances stack up.

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Yankee Stadium will feature a bit more ice next season when it plays host to two NHL matchups. (John Iacono/SI)

By Allan Muir

If one outdoor hockey game each year is special, the NHL is banking that six is even better.

Multiple sources are reporting that the New York Rangers will skate in a pair of outdoor games next year at at Yankee Stadium. The Blueshirts will play the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 26 and the New York Islanders on Jan. 29.

The timing might seem odd, but it plays out as a genius act of coat-tailing. With the Super Bowl slated for the following weekend, the largest media contingent of the year will be descending on New York City that week. What better way to fill their downtime–and help promote the sport–than with a pair of hockey spectacles.

The games will complement a burgeoning outdoor schedule that already features the Red Wings and Maple Leafs facing off in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1. Other matches in the works include Pittsburgh vs. Chicago on March 1 at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, along with the expected return of the Heritage Classic on March 2, when Vancouver will host Ottawa at BC Place. There also are reports that the Los Angeles Kings will to host the Anaheim Ducks at Chavez Ravine on Jan. 25.

You can expect cries of overkill from some corners, but the league is gambling that the public’s appetite for these outdoor spectacles is nowhere close to being sated. Odds are they’re right. You can bet the games will sell out and draw huge numbers on TV.

And that’s why it’s not just the paying public that’s excited by this news. These games will provide the league a chance to soothe any ill will that lingers with sponsors in the wake of the lockout. NBC Sports, the network that invested heavily in the league almost two years ago to the day, will gain five new appointment dates on its schedule. There will be five new title sponsor deals, like the one that’s worked out well for Bridgestone, and five new opportunities for the rest of the league’s affiliates to line their coffers.

We’ll have more as the story develops.

Emergency crews respond after two explosions near the finish line rocked the Boston Marathon on Monday. (AP)

By Allan Muir

An NHL source has informed SI.com that tonight’s game between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators has been postponed. There is no information at the moment regarding when the game might be rescheduled.

The decision was made by the league after discussions with the teams and the city of Boston in response to the tragedy at the Boston Marathon this afternoon. The league says it “wishes to express its sympathy to all affected by the tragic events that took place in Boston earlier this afternoon.”

Kevin Dupont of the Boston Globe has reported that Bruins players arriving at the rink have been told to go home.

Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray released a statement this evening. “The thoughts and prayers of the entire Ottawa Senators organization are with those people affected by today’s tragic events in Boston. We fully support the National Hockey League’s decision to postpone tonight’s game. Our entire team is safe and together. If possible, we are hoping to return to Ottawa this evening.”

While it is an insignificant concern at the moment, rescheduling the game won’t be easy given the already compacted nature of the NHL calendar. The Bruins had their Feb. 9 game against the Lightning postponed due to a weather-related emergency. That game was rescheduled for April 25.

The Bruins are playing every other night between now and the season’s end, meaning another rescheduled game could require a stretch of three games in three nights. The Senators play on Boston’s off nights through April 23, meaning there are three apparent dates available: April 24, 26 or 28. The TD Garden appears to be open on all three of those nights.

Craig Anderson, along with backup Robin Lehner, is putting together a spectacular season in Ottawa. (Jay Kopinski/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner are on the verge of crafting the best season of goaltending in modern history.

• Roberto Luongo and Ilya Bryzgalov top the list of likely compliance buyout candidates this summer.

• They talked Olympics, Carl Soderberg, Filip Forsberg and the NHL setting up shop in Las Vegas on The Hot Stove.

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By Allan Muir

Erik Karlsson’s possible return to the Ottawa Senators’ lineup this season is the question of the day after news leaked that the defending Norris Trophy-winner resumed on-ice activities Monday with skating coach Marc Power. And while he’s not exactly dancing out there, Karlsson looks pretty good for a guy who suffered a 70 percent tear of his Achilles’ tendon just two months ago.

His teammates — none of whom are doctors on the side — are suggesting that he could be back before the start of the playoffs.

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Forget me not: Despite his long absence, Craig Anderson is still a Vezina Trophy candidate. (Jay Kopinski/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Robin Lehner will get the start tonight for Ottawa against the Buffalo Sabres. If all goes well, it’s the last game he’ll play this year.

Starter Craig Anderson says he has “no hesitation in jumping over the boards and going in,” after lingering on injured reserve since Feb. 21. “If they need me to play, there really [are] no limitations right now for why I couldn’t,” he told the Ottawa Sun.

If he’s healthy, Anderson could run the table for the Sens, who’ll have 11 games to play after tonight.

It would be a heavy workload for a goaltender coming off a serious ankle injury, but there’s a lot on the line. Ottawa is in the thick of the Eastern Conference race, holding down the fifth spot. But with just five points separating the Sens from ninth place, and their next six games coming on the road, there’s no room for a slip. As good as Lehner’s been (2.15 GAA, .940 save percentage), he’s won just three of nine appearances, making Anderson a safer bet.

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By Allan Muir

If we’ve learned anything this week, it’s that a when an old, rich guy feels like he’s been screwed over, he will never, ever let it go.

First, there was the story out of Florida about Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and his personal vendetta against some other rich guy who treated show-jumping horses as a profit center rather than a noble sport that J.J. prefers. The horror. And the irony. But mostly, the horror.

That was awesome. But Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk just knocked him off the podium to take the goofy gold.

Melnyk is so convinced that Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke intentionally injured Sens’ defenseman Erik Karlsson last month that’s he’s commissioned a CSI-style forensic investigation to prove it.

YEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Melnyk revealed his plan today on Bob McCown’s Prime Time Sports program. He was totally serious. And completely oblivious to how much of a punch line he’s about to become.

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