2021 Stanley Cup Final: Workhorse Josh Anderson the clear MVP of Game 4

Josh Anderson was the runaway MVP of Game 4 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

We have to wait at least another couple of days to see the Stanley Cup awarded after the Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 to force a Game 5, thanks in large to an absolutely brilliant performance from Josh Anderson.

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Montreal needed a hero in order to stay alive to fight another day with their season on the line, and that savior came in the form of Anderson who put this team on his back and willed them over the finishing line in impressive fashion.

Providing the kind of grit and tough underbelly General Manager Marc Bergevin was looking for back in the offseason, Anderson has entrenched himself as a key cog in this well-oiled Canadiens machine since being acquired in a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets in October 2020, and his value to this team was on full display on Monday night.

He was dominant throughout and played an incredibly physical game, leading by example and his two clutch moments were the driving forces behind the Habs forcing a Game 5 and staying alive in this series.

Josh Anderson dominates his way to MVP crown in Game 4 of 2021 Stanley Cup Final

It was always going to be a hard-fought game given what was at stake for both teams, and Montreal delivered their best performance of the Stanley Cup Final so far, one we hadn’t seen from them since the semifinals against the Vegas Golden Knights.

And leading the charge was goalie Carey Price who had his best game of this series with 32 saves on 34 shots, defensemen Shea Weber and Alexander Romanov, young forwards Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield and, of course, Anderson.

The 27-year-old scored the first goal of the game at 15:39 in the first period to give Montreal their first lead of this series, one-timing the puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy after being fed a sublime pass from Suzuki.

Anderson logged 13:16 of total ice time, including 1:23 on the power play, and he finished the game with three shots on goal, a hit and two points while his play without the puck was equally impressive and important.

However, the forward’s most important moment of the game, and of the entire Playoffs, came in Overtime when he literally put the puck on his stick to save the Canadiens’ season and prevent Tampa Bay from becoming the first team since the Detroit Red Wings in 1998 to sweep the Stanley Cup Final.

Anderson forced the puck out of his own zone and sped away from two Lightning defensemen, leading an odd-man rush with Cole Caufield and, after the pass was knocked away from the latter, Anderson had the presence of mind to locate the puck and knock it past Vasilevskiy while diving full-length at 3:57 in OT to win the game in stunning fashion.

It was just an unreal hustle play and it perfectly illustrated what Anderson brings to the table – a lot of heart, a lot of guts and a never-say-die attitude – and that goal will go down as one of the most important in his career as it extended the Montreal Canadiens’ season and kept them alive in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

And those kind of exploits are worthy of the Game 4 MVP.