Craig Anderson will be back in the Ottawa Senators lineup on Saturday night when the team visits the Buffalo Sabres. It has been an extremely tough couple of weeks for Anderson as he has had to leave the team on two different occasions to be with his wife, Nicholle, after she was recently diagnosed with cancer.
In his two starts since then Anderson has allowed only one goal on 70 shots, including a 37-save shutout against the Edmonton Oilers.
His return to the Senators lineup on Saturday happens to come on the NHL’s hockey fights cancer night.
The Senators will be wearing these stickers on their helmets for the game.
This is the helmet sticker that will be worn by the #Sens tonight. #StickByNik #HockeyFightsCancer pic.twitter.com/CepanKJxfQ
— Sens Communications (@Media_Sens) November 5, 2016
Anderson and the Senators will be opposed by former Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner.
Elsewhere...
-- The New York Islanders have some interesting line combinations for their game against Edmonton on Saturday night. They will go with Jaroslav Halak in net. Expect Edmonton to go with Cam Talbot, as they have done in every game this season.
-- The Boston Bruins will look to remain perfect with Tuukka Rask in the lineup (6-0-0 entering the day) when they face the New York Rangers. The Rangers, playing the first end of a back-to-back, will go with Antti Raanta.
-- After Al Montoya had to take one for the team on Saturday and allowed 10 goals in a blowout loss to Columbus, Carey Price will be back in the Montreal net on Saturday against Philadelphia. The Flyers, who are getting one of their top defenseman back, will give Michal Neuvirth his fourth consecutive start.
-- No official word yet from Columbus, but after Sergei Bobrovsky started on Friday and made 30 saves against Montreal it seems possible, if not likely, the Blue Jackets could come back with backup Curtis McElhinney for his first start of the season against the Blues. St. Louis is starting Carter Hutton.
-- It will be Braden Holtby vs. Roberto Luongo when the Panthers and Capitals play in Washington.
-- Two of the best goalies in the NHL will face off in Tampa Bay with Cory Schneider (Devils) and Ben Bishop (Lightning) expected to get the starts.
-- The Canucks, trying to snap a seven-game losing streak, will go with Ryan Miller against Toronto. No official word from the Maple Leafs.
-- Expect a Pekka Rinne vs. Cam Ward matchup when the Predators and Hurricanes meet.
-- Antti Niemi will go for Dallas against Chicago’s Corey Crawford in a Central Division matchup. It is the first of two games between the two teams this weekend.
-- Matt Murray will make his second start of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they play San Jose. The Sharks will go with Martin Jones in a rematch of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
-- The Kings are expected to once again go with Peter Budaj because of the injuries to Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff, while the Calgary Flames will go with Brian Elliott.