GAME DAY:Ottawa Senators @ Toronto Maple Leafs - 7:00pm ET - SAT. Feb. 19, 2011

It was bizarre to see a goaltending performance like that in favour of Ottawa, for a change. Anderson =

Big Ev wrote:

wprager wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

Number Twenty Nine wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:

Big Ev wrote:Sign him now. We're gonna need games like that against our awful D/team next year.

as excited as i was to see a goalie not only make the big saves but the easy ones as well with the way our goalie luck is in ottawa i would rather wait a couple more games before signing him

Even if he busted right after signing him, it doesn't matter because we're gonna be awful next year haha

you know what, this game gives me a good feeling. we're not going to win the cup, but we're going to be competitive. something we haven't done all year pretty much

They won a 0-0 shootout game lol. Nobody really competed on offense tonight, 22 shots is weak. You're not going to win any games if you are that poor offensively.

Did you seriously just say that after a win???!

Look, we all know we suck this year. Next year will be different -- yeah, I'm a fan and I'm allowed to be wrong. We'll be a fun team to watch lose, though.

I saw the last 10 minute or so of the 3rd until the end -- that was the most exciting 0-0 game I've seen in a long time. If they pay like that all the time, lose half their games and miss the playoffs, they'll still sell enough tickets to make Melnyk some money on low-cap.

If they play like what? They were completely dominated the entire game. There was 1 reason why we won the game, our goalie (for a Cussing change).

I agree with you but what a change!

First, let me repeat that I watched the last 10 or so minutes of the 3rd, the OT and of course the SO. *That* is the portion of the game of which I said "If they play like that..." It was exciting hockey. They were skating hard, forechecking, backchecking, finishing their checks, never coasting. To borrow a phrase from McGuire, their level of compete was something we have seen very rarely lately.

Compare this to the team we saw back in January -- the current team is missing Fisher, Alfredsson, Kelly, Campoli and Gonchar. I *expect* that team to lose, and lose a lot. But, hell, that was fun to watch. And that's all I said.

Next season we will add a healthy Alfie, Cowen, Rundblad and a top-three pick. We will lose Kovalev, one of Campoli/Lee and, hopefully, one of Kuba/Gonchar. Leclaire, too, of course. I don't think losing any of those players will reduce that level of compete -- do you? Losing Neil will hurt in that respect. There's still some hope he will stay, though

Overall, I think this will be a much more fun team to watch play, which is, really, all you need. If the fanbase sees the future is bright (Karlsson, Cowen, Rundblad, Lehner, Landeskog?) and if the product on the ice is exciting even while not yet winning a lot, the fans will come.

What a debut for Anderson. I certainly don't mind a win against the Leafs, especially when NJ, NYI, and Edmonton all won yesterday. Nice to see him play well. I don't want a bunch of these 47 save performances though, as I don't want more wins, or to have to pay Anderson a million or more extra on his next deal. Just make enough saves for one goal losses please Craig!

Big Ev wrote:Sign him now. We're gonna need games like that against our awful D/team next year.

Big Ev wrote:

Bramlet07 wrote:Or keep him win a bunch of games and and not get a top 5 pick. If he aint signed by the deadline then i see no reason not to trade him because he wont sign here if hes a free agent.

That's challenged. They aren't going to sign him before the deadline, that's in a week for crying out loud. They need a longer audition than 3 or 4 games before making him an offer.

So, one minute you are screaming for ottawa to sign anderson now, and the next you are calling Bramlet challenged for wanting him signed soon as well. Which is it? or are you just being a troll?

Great game by Anderson, but let's not overvalue the mental focus that Anderson was sure to have for that game.

He is prone to letting his mind wander. I like him as a Sens goalie currently, but needs a lot of pieces in place to excel over the course of a season.

Will that season be with Ottawa remains to be seen.

wprager wrote:

Big Ev wrote:They won a 0-0 shootout game lol. Nobody really competed on offense tonight, 22 shots is weak. You're not going to win any games if you are that poor offensively.

Did you seriously just say that after a win???!

I know how it read, but I think BigEv just forget to put the letter "M" in front of "any".

Nothing to see here; we can all relax again.

Too much fighting amongst posters lately IMO. Losing always has brought out the worst in fans; that is tough to escape understandably.

dennycrane wrote:Maybe the question is after watching 47 shots by a horrendous Leaf team and no goals for, why would Anderson want to stay?

He was very poised in net tonight. I had forgotten what that looked like.

Good points, this is the Craig Anderson from last year.

If you are the agent for Craig Anderson, would you want him to sign now or see if Andy stays in the zone. Ottawa is expected to lose most of the rest of their games, if Anderson can play well and steal a game(from another offensively challenged team) or two, it is only going to help him with next contract. He is making about $1.8.

just read this from yost at HB

"According to the Team 1200, Anderson's also interested in signing with the team that thought highly enough to make a move for his services in Ottawa."

jawal wrote:

dennycrane wrote:Maybe the question is after watching 47 shots by a horrendous Leaf team and no goals for, why would Anderson want to stay?

He was very poised in net tonight. I had forgotten what that looked like.

Good points, this is the Craig Anderson from last year.

If you are the agent for Craig Anderson, would you want him to sign now or see if Andy stays in the zone. Ottawa is expected to lose most of the rest of their games, if Anderson can play well and steal a game(from another offensively challenged team) or two, it is only going to help him with next contract. He is making about $1.8.

I wouldn't say that "this" is the Craig Anderson of last year, but that game sure was. People shouldn't be fooled by that singular performance IMO. This season, Anderson has been a shadow of 2009-2010 for many reasons.

Make no mistake, that win last night was huge for Anderson personally, as well as most of the Sens. If you combine Anderson's failures recently, with the latest misfortunes of the Sens old gaurd, you have players that have been a part of a combined 1 win in their last 23 games. That beats you down and yesterdays victory, deserved or not, recovers some semblance of normalcy to their games.

Anderson needs to harness that focus he had in last nights game, it has been missing all season. From all accounts, his injury, mixed with lowered work ethic, lack of focus and personal issues, have lowered Anderson's confidence to the point that he doesn't trust his abilities anymore. This seasons numbers prove that.

No one is going to want to hear this, but Anderson is a lot like Leclaire style-wise. He isn't a technical goalie. He relies on reflexes and second save desperation quite a bit. The things that Anderson has over Leclaire are size and the ability to not get hurt by a cool breeze.

Anderson can be a great goalie, I don't question that; I don't want you guys to either. But, in order for Anderson to be superb, he needs to make those frantic saves. To do that, he requires the focus to follow the puck, he entails the mental focus to not give up on the play and must have the confidence to believe he can make any save at all. All those things need to fall into place. I always say it, but can you see why 95% of a goalies success is due to mental strength? Either way, they were all in place against Toronto, the desire to make a great first impression, usually provides enough fuel to your brain to let your skills take over for a game or two.

This game leaves a lot of unanswered questions still. I am looking forward to seeing more of Anderson and the outcome of his UFA status.

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:just read this from yost at HB

"According to the Team 1200, Anderson's also interested in signing with the team that thought highly enough to make a move for his services in Ottawa."

Haha. What an amazing recycled quote. Buy your Anderson Sens jersey now.

Yeah I read Anderson is similar to Leclaire in terms of style as well

He seems better positionally and way better rebound control.

Much better personality, he seems to talk to his defence a lot and he was even talking up the team on the bench before the shootout. I don't recall our other goalies doing that.

I think they should resign him after the season, he seems our bet at a FA #1 goalie, otherwise we'll have to get another unknown.

The damage that Leclaire did to this team in terms of forcing Lehner and Elliott to play way more games than they should absolutely cannot be repeated next year.

The single biggest risk for the Sens is not getting reliable goaltending next year, putting Lehner into a position he should not be in, I'd rank this above getting a lottery pick this year. The goaltending gong show in Ottawa has to stop.

Hoags wrote:Yeah I read Anderson is similar to Leclaire in terms of style as well

He seems better positionally and way better rebound control.

Much better personality, he seems to talk to his defence a lot and he was even talking up the team on the bench before the shootout. I don't recall our other goalies doing that.

I think they should resign him after the season, he seems our bet at a FA #1 goalie, otherwise we'll have to get another unknown.

The damage that Leclaire did to this team in terms of forcing Lehner and Elliott to play way more games than they should absolutely cannot be repeated next year.

The single biggest risk for the Sens is not getting reliable goaltending next year, putting Lehner into a position he should not be in, I'd rank this above getting a lottery pick this year. The goaltending gong show in Ottawa has to stop.

Co-sign. I'm not ready to sign Anderson right this minute, but if he performs well, he's got to be retained. No more goaltending carousel in Ottawa please.

Anderson is more like Emery than Leclaire. Plus he actually has big pads and doesn't play like Vern Troyer in net.

Straight Shooter wrote:

Big Ev wrote:Sign him now. We're gonna need games like that against our awful D/team next year.

Big Ev wrote:

Bramlet07 wrote:Or keep him win a bunch of games and and not get a top 5 pick. If he aint signed by the deadline then i see no reason not to trade him because he wont sign here if hes a free agent.

That's challenged. They aren't going to sign him before the deadline, that's in a week for crying out loud. They need a longer audition than 3 or 4 games before making him an offer.

So, one minute you are screaming for ottawa to sign anderson now, and the next you are calling Bramlet challenged for wanting him signed soon as well. Which is it? or are you just being a troll?

What are you talking about? He wants him traded if he isn't signed by NEXT WEEK.

Can't see Anderson resigning before the season is done.

They'd trade him if they feel there is 0% chance of him signing here.

Hoags wrote:Can't see Anderson resigning before the season is done.

They'd trade him if they feel there is 0% chance of him signing here.

Pretty hard to get a read on that in 8 days though isn't it?

I suppose there's after the season before July 1, but the return then would be next to nothing, if that I suspect.

Seemed to me when Anderson was going up and down the bench prior to overtime to pump the guys up no one was even looking at him. Did I imagine this?