"Pascal Leclaire was a saviour Thursday night at Mellon Arena.

He will have to walk on water — albeit the frozen kind — again if the Senators are going to stay alive in their first- round playoff series against the Penguins.

Making his first career playoff start, Leclaire, 27, rewrote the Senators' record book by facing 59 shots and making 56 saves to help the club stave off elimination with Game 6 of the series set for Saturday at Scotiabank Place.

Not bad for a guy who had lost his starting job to Brian Elliott in mid-January and had only won one of his starts in 2010. But after Elliott turned in a disappointing effort in Game 4's 7-4 loss, the Senators were in need of a hero.

Leclaire played the role perfectly. "