32 games into this (2015/16) season sees the Ottawa Senators two grand goalies from last year match various totals from all of last year. I'm sure Craig Anderson is fine with that. Poor Andrew Hammond had a tough act to follow. But the Sens can rest assured that last year was no fluke.
Hammond's season has been a bit frustrating. It was impossible not to get caught up in last year's hoopla. There was a relief appearance on February 16th vs. Carolina, where he gave up two goals on five shots in under 21 minutes of work. A no-decision. But soon, he won, won, won. Hammond won his first start vs. Montreal two days later, stopping 42 of 44 shots on goal. It was his first NHL win. But soon, he'd have a lot more. Riding an unbelievable wave of invincibility, Andrew used that win and went 14-0-1 before finally losing in regulation on the 26th of March to the Islanders. Hammond wasn't the least bit concerned and finished the season 6-0-1. That upped his 2015/16 (And lifetime) record to an amazing 20-1-2. And this wasn't a case of the Sens winning games for him, or anything else of that fluky nature. His goals-against average was 1.79 and his save percentage was .941.
He did not, however, finish in the top ten in the last two categories (Or in any other for that matter), because Andrew did not appear in the required amount of games. And when the playoffs started against the Canadians, reality stepped in. Granted, Andrew didn't play bad, but Carey Price basically just reminded Hammond, "Hey! I'm a pretty good goalie two!" So after two games (And two losses!), it was the end of the line (For 2014/15) for Hammond. But, there was that other goalie on Ottawa, right?
That other goalie was Craig Anderson, by name. And unlike Hammond, he did lead finish in the top ten in a category. Save percentage, seventh, with .923. But had Craig lost his job? Well, his performance in the playoffs, 2-2, 0.97, .972, suggested otherwise. That upped his career playoff stats to 12-14, 2.35, .933. That's the kind of SV% that should keep you around. Did it?
Well, come the fall, Hammond suffered a groin injury during skating drills. That stalled his season. So Hammond didn't get into a game until October 22nd. Anderson had to pick up the slack. He did.
Through last Sunday (December 13th), he's back being the number one goalie in Ottawa. And he has every intentions of keeping it. Hammond, mind you, went 2-0-2 in his first four games, then suffered a concussion that sidelined him until the middle of December. When he returned to action vs. Washington on the 16th, he lost in regulation. It took him five games to do that this season. It took him 16 games (And 24 total if you include the relief appearance) last year for that "one" to appear in the regulation losses column.
Anderson only made it to 14 wins last year in 35 games. He has been no stranger to injuries, and last year was no exception. But so far this year, he's avoided the injury bug, and manged to lead all goalies in games played (26), and matched his win total from last year. Yes, the goals-against average is up and the save-percentage in down, but it's only a matter of time.
And with Hammond back, Anderson can look forward for some well-deserved rest. But I don't think Hammond wants to lose again in regulation again. He's got last year's total on his mind. He doesn't want to "better" it, does he?
References
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Garrioch, B.. "Disappointing start for injured Senators goalie Andrew Hammond", Ottawa Sun. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/10/05/disappointing-start-for-injured-senators-goalie-andrew-hammond
Garrioch, B. "Can Senators' Andrew Hammond return to miracle play?" Ottawa Sun. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/10/21/can-senators-andrew-hammond-return-to-miracle-play
“Official Site of the National Hockey League.” NHL.com, National Hockey League. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. www.nhl.com/.
Scanlan, W. (2015, December 16). "Washington Capitals spoil the Hamburglar's return, edge Ottawa Senators 2-1" National Post. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl/washington-capitals-spoil-the-hamburglars-return-edge-past-ottawa-senators-2-1
Shackles, T. "Craig Anderson Is The Senators Most Important Piece In 2015-16" Silver Seven. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://www.silversevensens.com/2015/8/30/9224209/craig-anderson-is-the-senators-most-important-piece-in-2015-16-ottawa-senators-nhl
NHL. “Senators @ Capitals Highlights 12/16/15.” YouTube, uploaded by National Hockey League, Web. 17 Dec. 2015, <www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnd4QNsdF_I>.
Hammond's season has been a bit frustrating. It was impossible not to get caught up in last year's hoopla. There was a relief appearance on February 16th vs. Carolina, where he gave up two goals on five shots in under 21 minutes of work. A no-decision. But soon, he won, won, won. Hammond won his first start vs. Montreal two days later, stopping 42 of 44 shots on goal. It was his first NHL win. But soon, he'd have a lot more. Riding an unbelievable wave of invincibility, Andrew used that win and went 14-0-1 before finally losing in regulation on the 26th of March to the Islanders. Hammond wasn't the least bit concerned and finished the season 6-0-1. That upped his 2015/16 (And lifetime) record to an amazing 20-1-2. And this wasn't a case of the Sens winning games for him, or anything else of that fluky nature. His goals-against average was 1.79 and his save percentage was .941.
He did not, however, finish in the top ten in the last two categories (Or in any other for that matter), because Andrew did not appear in the required amount of games. And when the playoffs started against the Canadians, reality stepped in. Granted, Andrew didn't play bad, but Carey Price basically just reminded Hammond, "Hey! I'm a pretty good goalie two!" So after two games (And two losses!), it was the end of the line (For 2014/15) for Hammond. But, there was that other goalie on Ottawa, right?
That other goalie was Craig Anderson, by name. And unlike Hammond, he did lead finish in the top ten in a category. Save percentage, seventh, with .923. But had Craig lost his job? Well, his performance in the playoffs, 2-2, 0.97, .972, suggested otherwise. That upped his career playoff stats to 12-14, 2.35, .933. That's the kind of SV% that should keep you around. Did it?
Well, come the fall, Hammond suffered a groin injury during skating drills. That stalled his season. So Hammond didn't get into a game until October 22nd. Anderson had to pick up the slack. He did.
Through last Sunday (December 13th), he's back being the number one goalie in Ottawa. And he has every intentions of keeping it. Hammond, mind you, went 2-0-2 in his first four games, then suffered a concussion that sidelined him until the middle of December. When he returned to action vs. Washington on the 16th, he lost in regulation. It took him five games to do that this season. It took him 16 games (And 24 total if you include the relief appearance) last year for that "one" to appear in the regulation losses column.
Anderson only made it to 14 wins last year in 35 games. He has been no stranger to injuries, and last year was no exception. But so far this year, he's avoided the injury bug, and manged to lead all goalies in games played (26), and matched his win total from last year. Yes, the goals-against average is up and the save-percentage in down, but it's only a matter of time.
And with Hammond back, Anderson can look forward for some well-deserved rest. But I don't think Hammond wants to lose again in regulation again. He's got last year's total on his mind. He doesn't want to "better" it, does he?
References
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
Garrioch, B.. "Disappointing start for injured Senators goalie Andrew Hammond", Ottawa Sun. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/10/05/disappointing-start-for-injured-senators-goalie-andrew-hammond
Garrioch, B. "Can Senators' Andrew Hammond return to miracle play?" Ottawa Sun. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/10/21/can-senators-andrew-hammond-return-to-miracle-play
“Official Site of the National Hockey League.” NHL.com, National Hockey League. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. www.nhl.com/.
Scanlan, W. (2015, December 16). "Washington Capitals spoil the Hamburglar's return, edge Ottawa Senators 2-1" National Post. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl/washington-capitals-spoil-the-hamburglars-return-edge-past-ottawa-senators-2-1
Shackles, T. "Craig Anderson Is The Senators Most Important Piece In 2015-16" Silver Seven. Web. 21 Oct. 2015. http://www.silversevensens.com/2015/8/30/9224209/craig-anderson-is-the-senators-most-important-piece-in-2015-16-ottawa-senators-nhl
NHL. “Senators @ Capitals Highlights 12/16/15.” YouTube, uploaded by National Hockey League, Web. 17 Dec. 2015, <www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnd4QNsdF_I>.
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