on March 16, 2010 by Kevin Nash in General Avalance Talk, Comments (4)
Anderson Is A True Number One
Most Colorado Avalanche fans know the story by now. Craig Anderson was a seemingly no-name acquisition from the Florida Panthers this off-season, and he has embraced his starting job on the team to become the first goaltending fan favorite since number 33 was in town. I have to be honest that I had never followed him either. Who can blame me though? Florida is really far away, and the backup for the Panthers does not get a whole lot of press in these parts. When Craig got signed, I did what I do with most new player signings…I look at their previous numbers. What I saw was pretty decent considering the fact that the Florida Panthers are not exactly a juggernaut organization. Last season with Florida, Anderson played in 31 games, and went 15-7, with a 2.71 GAA and a .924 S%. Given those numbers, I had to give Andy the benefit of the doubt and let his play speak for itself.
Well, there is no question that he took the starting job and ran with it. None of the Patrick Roy successors have been rallied behind by the fans as much as Anderson has been in the last six months. This kind of recognition and accolade does not come automatically though. Craig has earned the respect that he has gotten not just by being better than our past Roy replacements, but by genuinely matching up to the top players in the game today.
Over the last few months there have been a lot of critics in the Internet “opinionsphere” constantly saying that they are worried about the possibility that Craig Anderson might be stretching himself out too thin, and playing too much. Maybe it is just the fact that we are not used to having a true starting goaltender that we can rely on each night, but after looking at the stats of the top goaltenders in the league, his amount of play is very typical. All of the big name net-minders have similar playing time to Andy.
Martin Brodeur (NJD) – 64 Games
Janathan Quick (LAK) – 61 Games
Craig Anderson, Miikka Kiprusoff (CGY), Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) – 60 Games
Ilya Bryzgalov (PHX) – 59 Games
Evgeni Nabokov (SJS), Roberto Luongo (VAN) – 58 Games
Again, the point here is that it is common for goaltenders at the top of their game to play this much. Even after all of the work, Andy has a 5th best .924 S%, and a 12th best 2.45 GAA. Andy has not shown that it matters a whole lot for him to play this much. Sure, he and his team have their off nights here and there, but I think Andy truly thrives on the challenge, and may even stay sharp with a lot of work. Baring an injury, the Avs look to ride his back into the playoffs. I am not under any delusion that the Avs will make a real deep run this year in the playoffs, but they sure have created the building blocks this season to be contenders again.
The Avs are back at it again tonight against the Blues, who they have completely dominated in three previous match-ups this season. In the most recent game against the Blues, Chris Mason was given the hook from the game for the second time in a row against the Avs, and Chris Stewart walked away with this first career hat trick. Hopefully the Avs can keep this hot streak going. Peter Budaj will get his first start since January, as the team looks to give Andy a little rest on a night against a pretty mediocre team in St. Louis.
J Scott Moore
March 17, 2010 @ 2:12 pm
Good stuff Kevin. Yeah, it didn’t take Denver long to embrace a good goalie, eh? The best part is how much Anderson is enjoying it! He loves those #1 star interviews at home!
Well, i think we can be pretty sure the boys are going to the playoffs. So of course the question is how far will they go? I agree with you, I don’t expect them to go real deep, they are so young and some nights it really shows. That will probably happen at some point in the playoffs and that will likely be the end of the run. But! I’m thrilled they are as good as they are this year.
Kevin Nash
March 17, 2010 @ 3:13 pm
I appreciate the comment Scott. I know that the goal of the team should always be to win the cup every year. At least the mindset needs to be that way. I am really just so happy that the Avalanche are competitive again after their collapse last year, that I am just going to take whatever I can get from the playoffs. I don’t think one series is too much to ask or shoot for. The young talent coming up on this team has been quite surprising and entertaining to watch. Who ever though that Chris Stewart would turn into the soft hands & hard skating player that he has become? How about Ryan Wilson on defense with his Rob Blake like hip checks? It has really been fun discovering these new players, and I look forward to their continued development. It is a completely different mindset than the way a lot of fans (including myself) used to think about this team pre-lockout. I know that I used to be completely disappointed if they did not at least get to the conference finals every season. I think a lot of us got pretty spoiled with the early success that this team had.
Jay Vean
March 29, 2010 @ 8:59 pm
After Andy’s latest performances, I’m still on the fence as to whether he’s the guy to take this team back to the big time. Not sure if he’s been played too much, or he’s just lost it mentally, or a little of both. I’m sure the grind has to wear on him in a lot of ways over a season with as much playing time as he’s gotten and as many shots as he’s seen. I guess time will tell. Hopefully this is just a tough spell he’s going through. I think an investment in a quality back up during the off season, someone that Sacco feels like he and the team can trust throughout the season to play maybe 15-20 games, would do wonders for Andy and his mental health. No goaltender, who isn’t names Marty Brodeur, is designed for seasons like the one he’s had. Marty can do it because he faces, and/or faced, so few shots over his career. Either way, I root for Andy and hope he’s the guy for this team in the future.
Kevin Nash
March 30, 2010 @ 10:52 am
As I mentioned in my Facebook response, I honestly think the team’s problems are with the skaters, and not Andy. Sure, he has let in some soft goals, but there have been way more breakdowns in front of the net, than goals that Andy has no excuse for letting by. He generally stops the first shot that comes to him, but our skaters are getting beat to rebounds.
Also, as good as Sacco has been with the youngsters, and getting the team where it is this season, he has made some mistakes. He has had a revolving door of defensemen on the back line, and he has probably let Andy make the decision on whether or not he plays each night too much. I get the point that John Liles has not been what we would like him to be this season, but since we do not have any really better options to replace him, he should be in the game every night if he is healthy. There is just too much shuffling going on back there.
I believe that you are correct as far as the backup situation goes. I still think Andy is a true number one, but they do need someone that they can trust on the bench. Getting a solid backup should be a priority this off-season.