The noon number: Six

6 - The number of starts Craig Anderson has made for the Ottawa Senators in the past 18 days, as of today. As your math skills can tell you, that's one start every three days. That pace is hardly the grind alarmist statements like, "Craig Anderson has started 18 consecutive games!" are so eager to imply. For the more visual among you, here is a beautiful feast for your eyeballs:

It's certainly true that Anderson's play has not been outstanding during the Senators' losing streak. But a simple visual interpretation should put an end to the conversation for everyone except those who want to live in denial. It seems difficult to imagine that overuse is the cause of Anderson's performance slippage when there is a clear, long window for both mental and physical recuperation. Perhaps instead, we should consider that Anderson's level of play (and consequently, his outrageous save percentage) during the Senators' winning streak was unsustainable, and that our expectations for him due to that extended run of excellence were out of sync with the reality of an 82-game season.