The Ottawa Senators Now Find Themselves With A Good Problem…
By Phil Lemay
Who would have thought the injury to Craig Anderson would have somewhat been a blessing in disguise? When the season started I think every fan knew, the Senators finally had goaltending depth like they’ve never had before. Not only did they have a Vezina candidate between the pipes until Anderson was injured, they had a very capable back-up with number one potential. On top of all that, Robin Lehner was fine tuning his game down in Bingo, to prove not only himself but also the team that drafted him that he was the future. So when the season began the Sens had the potential to have 3 NHL ready goalies. A problem any franchise would love to have.
Jan 27, 2013; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Ottawa Senators goaltender
Craig Anderson(41) makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the overtime period at Scotiabank Place. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Just to show you, how good the Senators goaltending is, the goalies together own a SV% of .940; those are video game like numbers! If they can keep up these stats they will set a new record for team SV%, previously held by the Boston bruins (Tim Thomas/Tuukka Rask; SV% .930) A pretty tremendous feat considering one was a past Vezina trophy winner and the other is 3rd in GAA and 7th in SV% this year.
This has become such an amazing asset for the young Senators. As we all know, Ben Bishop will eventually be traded, whether it be before the trade deadline or the off season. The same can be said about Craig Anderson, as Robin Lehner is the goalie of the future. Great assets can be acquired from trading a young up and coming goaltender and a legitimate number one/Vezina candidate goalie. I don’t see the Senators trading Anderson just yet but they could/probably will find themselves with a problem, once again a good one, like the Vancouver Canucks.
The future is bright in Sens land and Bryan Murray knows it. With a few years of experience this line-up could be dangerous, having players like Robin Lehner, Jakob Silfverberg, Jared Cowen and many more grow to be better players to compliment the likes of Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson; could make this team a legit contender, like they were just a few years back.
The Ottawa Senators find themselves with a goaltending problem and they’ve never had to deal with one like this and they plan on enjoying every second of it! Keep on enjoying the ride Sens fans should be a good one for the foreseeable future!