If there was any doubt that Craig Anderson is the Ottawa Senators’ top goalie, he might have already erased it.
The 31-year-old netminder improved his 2013 record to 5-0-1 as Ottawa beat Montreal 5-1 on Wednesday despite missing key players Jason Spezza and Sergei Gonchar. Anderson stopped 31 out of 32 shots.
It’s not as if Anderson has enjoyed a cushy start, either. As well as the Senators have been playing, he’s faced a little more than 30 shots per game on his way to some outstanding stats:
Anderson: 5-0-1, 0.99 GAA (six goals allowed in six games) and a .967 save percentage.
Also impressive: Anderson didn’t show the ill effects from back-to-back games; he made 31 out of 33 saves in a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals last night.
For more on Anderson’s strong start, see this video:
Big backup Ben Bishop, 26, was in net for the team’s lone regulation loss as the Senators dropped a 6-4 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 25. Perhaps Bishop (and 21-year-old prospect Robin Lehner) will eventually challenge Anderson in the future, but the veteran goalie has a strong hold over the No. 1 job right now.