Silver Nuggets: Craig Anderson returns

As you are likely aware, Craig Anderson will return tonight. In his absence, the Senators went 5-5-2 but that was certainly not because of goaltending. Taking out the one-game played by Alex Auld, Ottawa went 5-4-2 with Robin Lehner and Ben Bishop, allowing a total of 23 goals in the 11 games. Only four times did Ottawa allow more than two goals in a game, including a 4-2 loss to Florida, 7-3 win over Tampa Bay, 4-3 shootout loss to Buffalo and a 3-1 loss to Toronto. In the six games lost with Lehner and Bishop, the Senators scored a grand total of nine goals and only once scored more than two goals.

With Anderson back, it is possible that the club feels a bit more comfortable taking offensive risks out there and starts scoring more goals. Another explanation could be that the Senators will simply turn it around offensively regardless of who is in net because they have been scoring a lot all season. The lack of scoring in recent games was definitely not due to the lack of chances created.

Still, it helps to not have a rookie playing in these crucial games, no matter how well the rookie has played. A win tonight would be a great way for Anderson to return.

More after the jump.

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