BOSTON - Bobby Ryan scored early in the third period, Craig Anderson stopped 22 shots and the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 on Wednesday night for a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

It was Anderson's fourth career playoff shutout.

Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for Boston, which had a goal disallowed in the first when Ottawa coach Guy Boucher challenged and the replay showed Noel Acciari was offside.

The Bruins, who were winless in four games against the Senators in the regular season, will try to force the series back to Boston with a victory in Ottawa in Game 5 on Friday night.

After back-to-back overtime games, this one remained scoreless until 5:49 into the third, when Erik Karlsson's slap shot deflected off Rask to his stick side. Ryan pulled it from his backhand to his forehand and swiped at it as Zdeno Chara dove behind Rask into the crease to try to knock the puck away from the goal line.

The 6-foot-9 defenseman was able to reach out and prevent the first attempt from going in, but Ryan pushed it over the line with his second.

The Bruins pulled Rask with almost two minutes left and managed a couple of scoring chances - both from Brad Marchand - but Anderson turned them away.

NOTES: Bruins D Colin Miller returned after missing Games 2 and 3 with an unspecified injury. ... Ottawa D Mark Borowiecki missed his second straight game. ''Boro is getting closer every day,'' Boucher said. ... Ottawa F Tom Pyatt left after a hit from Kevan Miller early in the first. ... Bruins C Patrice Bergeron, a three-time Selke Trophy winner, was named a finalist for the award for the sixth time Wednesday.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen baked a batch of turnovers before Game 4, and decided to save one for Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle.

After the Wild dumped the puck in Wednesday, Allen blindly rimmed it around the boards, failing to realize that not only was his defenseman not present, but Coyle was waiting in the wings, anticipating the puck. He made no mistake capitalizing on the giveaway.

The goal gave Minnesota their first lead of the series, in part due to Allen's spectacular play, as he had a 0.91 goals-against average and .974 save percentage in the series heading into this game.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Brian Elliott was on a short leash Wednesday.

The Calgary Flames netminder was yanked just 5:38 into the opening period of Game 4 after Anaheim Ducks forward Patrick Eaves scored an iffy goal.

Chad Johnson came in to relieve Elliott, only to allow a goal just 1:08 later.

Anaheim leads the opening-round series 3-0, and will try for the sweep.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen believes the Washington Capitals weren't the only ones to defeat his team.

"We didn't play anywhere close to what we're capable of," said Andersen, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "We beat ourselves."

For the second consecutive game, the Leafs dug themselves a hole in the early going, as they trailed 2-0 less than five minutes into the game and were down 4-1 after the first period.

This was once again uncharacteristic of the Leafs, as they were one of the best first-period teams throughout the regular season and the first two games of the series.

Andersen can't be blamed for the majority of Washington's goals, but he failed to make a big save when they needed it most.

After Auston Matthews scored to cut the deficit to 4-3, T.J. Oshie beat Andersen through the five-hole about a minute later off a costly giveaway at the blue line, which sucked the energy right out of the building. The tally was Oshie's second of the game.

With the series evened up at 2-2, Andersen and the Leafs will begin a best of three with the Caps on Friday in DC.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Bobby Ryan is starting anew in the playoffs.

After struggling through much of the regular season, the Ottawa Senators forward has delivered in the early goings of the postseason.

In Game 4 against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, Ryan pocketed his third goal of the series, battling through a sprawled Tuukka Rask to put the Senators ahead 1-0.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs aren't usually described as a day at the beach, that is, until Game 4 between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators.

It was during the second period that a beach ball made its way onto the ice, which was scooped up by a referee, who put it in his shirt of all places.

David Pastrnak then juggled it on his stick before attempting to fire it back over the glass. Finally, Ottawa's Cody Ceci managed to get it out of the playing surface.

Despite the brief period in the spotlight, it ultimately proved to be a deflating moment in the ball's existence.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Two iconic Canadians enjoyed some playoff hockey together Wednesday in Boston.

Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr and Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie were spotted taking in Game 4 of the hometown team's series with the Ottawa Senators.

Downie's godfather happens to be former Bruins president, coach, and general manager Harry Sinden, hence the connection to Boston hockey.

On May 24, 2016, it was announced that Downie had been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tom Wilson just had the shift of a lifetime.

At one end, Wilson swiped out a puck from the goal line that squeaked through goaltender Braden Holtby. Later in the same shift in the offensive end, Wilson tipped a Lars Eller shot to give the Washington Capitals a 3-1 lead.

He wasn't done just yet, though.

A little over two minutes later, Wilson, who had just seven goals during the regular season, scored again to give the Caps a 4-1 lead.

Wilson is also responsible for clinching the Game 1 victory for Washington, as he netted the OT winner. The Toronto native has clearly saved his best hockey for the team he grew up rooting for.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Alex Ovechkin is looking to erase the doubt.

The Washington Capitals superstar winger fired an absolute bomb of a slap shot past Toronto's Frederik Andersen during the first period of Wednesday's Game 4, temporarily giving the Washington Capitals a much-needed two-goal lead.

The goal was Ovechkin's third of the playoffs.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It's down to three for the NHL's top defensive forward.

The Boston Bruins' Patrice Bergeron, Anaheim Ducks' Ryan Kesler, and Mikko Koivu of the Minnesota Wild have been named as this year's three nominees for the Selke Trophy.

Bergeron is a three-time Selke winner, last capturing the trophy in 2015. Kesler has taken home the Selke once, in 2011. A win this year would mark the first for Koivu.

Bergeron appeared in 79 games this season, recording 21 goals and 32 assists. He finished with a plus-12 rating.

Kesler skated in all 82 games, finishing second on the team with 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists). He was a plus-eight on the season.

Koivu registered 18 goals and 40 assists in 80 games. His plus-27 rating was third-best among forwards league-wide, behind only T.J. Oshie and Minnesota teammate Jason Zucker.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.