Ottawa Senators Foolish To Sit Andrew Hammond
The Ottawa Senators playoff chances took a serious blow last night. A win against the Bruins would have meant the Senators were three points out of the 8th and final playoff spot (held by the Bruins), instead their loss means they sit seven points out.
"For myself it was not any player who disappointed me but whoever decided to start Craig Anderson."
They say hindsight is 20/20 but that does not change my opinion of what lost the Senators the game yesterday. Why did they start Craig Anderson? Andrew Hammond is 7-0-1 with a .954 save percentage.
On the other hand, Craig Anderson returned to the net for the Senators in their 5-4 win over Calgary and let in four goals in the fourth period of that game. Did he face a ton of shots? Yes. Does it take away the fact he let in four goals? No.
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Anderson comes off a Sunday game where he let in four goals in the third period. Andrew Hammond did not play that game so he in theory was rested for yesterday’s game. What do the Senators do against the Bruins? They play Craig Anderson. Andrew Hammond has been on fire, and has earned the Senators a point in all eight of his starts. He has not had a regulation loss this season! The Senators still choose to roll out Anderson against the Bruins.
I absolutely hate the decision the Senators made. It is one of those backward hockey decisions that does not appear to be based on logic. Why did they start Anderson, because he’s the Senators “number one” guy?
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Senators management constantly makes decisions that are rooted in illogical thinking. Why did Anderson start this game? Was it due to the fact that he has a bigger cap hit then Hammond? What makes the Senators think Hammond doesn’t give them a chance to win? Why did the Senators not play Hammond?
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I do not have the answers to these questions. The Senators launched forty shots at Rask and only scored one goal. However, Anderson let up three goals on twenty two shots. Hammond should have been in net.
It is absolutely mind boggling the Senators did not play their goalie who had earned them a point in all eight games he started. 7-0-1 is Hammond’s record. I am tired of the old school illogical decisions made by the Senators management. No other sport sees teams sit hot players so frequently, or give ice time to people simply due to their age.
“Let’s play a goalie because he’s older and paid more, let’s keep giving ice time and holding on to old players who will not be with the team in a few years, let’s keep missing the playoffs”. I wish decisions were made with the mind and not based on flawed logic such as Anderson being “the guy”.
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