Craig Anderson (3 GA, 35 SV, L) lost again last night and does that surprise anyone? He helped the Sens stay with it through the shootout but came out on the losing end with the Bolts' Ben Bishop standing tall for another win. During the post game interviews Anderson was a bit cranky about his recent performance and who wouldn't be? I mean, if I was Craig Anderson, I'd feel pretty bad about myself on a daily basis, but I digress. When asked about the outcome Anderson dismissed the shootout as just a "skills competition," uhm, isn't the entire sport a skills competition? How is that a valid argument against the format? Wow. Unfortunately for him he kept speaking, adding "Flip a coin and call heads. That might be a better way to settle it.” Awww, who needs a diaper change?! Maybe it's nap time, too! Give me a break, Anderson. You think the shootout is the problem? Take a look in the mirror and you'll see your problem. I'm sure his comments have nothing to do with the fact that he's 20-26 all time in shootouts with an embarrassing .625 save percentage to go with it. Just when I thought Anderson couldn't find a way to be worse, here it is! Unfortunately for him everyone loves the shootouts, hell even most of the players do, the only guys that really complain about it are the goalies who get burnt more often than not. I don't know what he's complaining about, it's not like there's a huge difference in the quality of his play in the game before the shootout or during, it's all bad. He's bad. At this point I'd have one thing to say to the Ottawa coaching staff; start Robin Lehner for crying out loud! And wouldn't you know it? Lehner is slated to start tomorrow night. Don't make me look bad, Robin! On the upside, even if you do, none of us will ever look as bad as Anderson does out there. Anyway, here's what else I saw in the world o' fantasy hockey last night:
The Ottawa Senators were plagued by injuries. Jason Spezza went down early in the season with back surgery. Star defenseman Erik Karlsson had his Achilles’ tendon rupture that cost him a majority of the season. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Pittsburgh’s Matt Niskanen scored with 8:02 left in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Penguins to a 10th straight win, 2-1 over Washington. Paul Martin had the other goal for Pittsburgh while Alex Ovechkin lit the lamp for Washington. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Toronto forward Matt Frattin scored with 1.5 seconds left in overtime to lift the Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night. Frattin’s second goal of the game lifts Toronto back to .500 at 3-3 on the season. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Not that I think Jonas Hiller is over the hill, but come on using his name in a title about how much he sucks kinds of lends itself to it. I’ve had a hard time diagnosing exactly what’s been wrong with Hiller. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Heading into Friday there were a lot of Matt Duchene owners growing anxious about his so-so production so far this year. Then he went all hat-trick on the Stars and now has 5 Points in the Avalanche’ last 2 games. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Marc-Andre put an exclamation point on his hot start with a 33 Save Shutout against the Isle. ‘Twas a nice game for the former top overall pick and he’s doing exactly what his owners hoped he would. Please, blog, may I have some more?
A whole slew (is the plural for cole-slaw cole-slew?) of preseason games took place last night, and being in the city/state/country that I am my viewing options are limited to whatever the NHL Network decides to air. Please, blog, may I have some more?