"It starts with the goalie," Boucher said. "It's always going to start with the goalie for me because I've been humbled enough now in situations where you can play great and you just can't win. It's like a quarterback in football and a pitcher in baseball, and we have it. We got that guy."
Anderson made 11 saves in a scoreless first period and 22 in the second, when the Senators were outshot 23-10 but escaped with a 1-1 tie. His lone blemish came against Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who put his own rebound past Anderson at 4:51.
Anderson closed the door in the third by making 12 saves, all after Senators forward Mike Hoffman rang a laser-like shot off the right post and into the net at 1:34 for what stood as the game-winning goal.
Anderson is tied with Patrick Lalime for the most Stanley Cup Playoff wins in Senators history with 21.
"Huge. Monstrous," forward Zack Smith said in describing Anderson's performance. "He had our backs all night. I can't say enough about him."
Anderson, like the rest of the Senators, could have crumbled after Game 5, a 7-0 loss. Anderson allowed four goals on 14 shots before getting pulled for good after the first period.
"You can't change what happened in the past, so from that moment on you have to look forward and get ready for the next one," Anderson said. "As soon as that happened you leave the rink, put it behind you."
A young Craig Anderson probably wouldn't have been able to do that. But that's why he had regular visits with a sports psychologist after his first year of pro hockey more than 15 years ago.
Those visits allowed Anderson, now 36, to get the Senators within a win of the Cup Final.
"I took my biggest strides in pro hockey as far as mentally probably after my first year pro," Anderson said. "It was one of those things where I found a sports psychologist that I liked and worked with him when I was a young player. I used those tools, read a couple books along the way. It's a tough thing to do, but having nights like tonight just emphasize things that I had been taught."
Performances like the one Anderson had Tuesday also emphasize how important he is to helping the Senators play their game.