Anderson on verge of franchise wins mark
Lalime, who holds record now, says he admires Sens goalie’s mental toughness
By the time Patrick Lalime is honoured by the Ottawa Senators with his own Bobblehead Night on March 18, Craig Anderson likely will have replaced him as the winningest goaltender in franchise history.
Lalime has 146 regular season wins, but here comes Anderson. He’s sitting at 143 victories following a tidy 21-save performance in Thursday’s 2-1 win over Colorado.
“I knew he was getting close,” says Lalime, who owned the Senators crease from 1999-2004 and now works as a colour analyst for TVA.
“I think it’s great. He’s a great goalie. I did have a chance to play against him and I’ve watched him for awhile.
“He’s one of those goalies who definitely makes a difference. He’s a guy who can win games by himself. He’s one of the best goalies in the league when he gets hot. He reads the play so well.”
Since returning to the net following his 10-week absence to be with his wife, Nicholle, during her fight with a rare throat cancer, Anderson has been outstanding.
Over seven games, he sports a 5-2 record, 1.72 goals against average and .948 save percentage.
For the season, he has a 17-8-1 record, 2.26 goals against average and .930 save percentage, tied with Washington’s Braden Holtby for third in the NHL, behind only Devan Dubnyk of Minnesota and Chicago’s Scott Darling.
Lalime says Anderson’s ability to re-discover his game after such an extended layoff — and with Nicholle continuing her cancer fight — is remarkable.
“It’s crazy what he’s doing, especially with everything that’s going on in his life,” Lalime said.
“I can’t imagine it. He’s come back after not playing hockey for two months like nothing has happened.
“Mentally, he’s pretty strong. He can separate hockey from what’s going on his life. When the game is over, he goes back to his family. I have a lot of admiration and respect for that.”
The ability to maintain focus is what often separates mediocre goalies from good ones and great netminders from good ones.
In Anderson’s case, though, he was also able to jump on to the moving train of the NHL season without falling off.
After playing against Pittsburgh on Dec. 5, he didn’t see NHL practice shots again until Jan. 30, when he returned following the All-Star break.
He worked closely with goaltending coach Pierre Groulx for 10 days before making his return with a 3-0 shutout against the Islanders on Feb. 11.
Again, Lalime says, that’s where the mental side of the game, and Anderson’s experience, came shining through.
“Physically, maybe you’re not on top of your game right away, but he’s there mentally,” he said.
“And then you work and work to get back (physically), but you don’t overdo it (with game action). You do what you need to do.”
The Senators managed to stay in a playoff position while Anderson was out in large part because of backup Mike Condon.
With Condon around, there’s no need for Anderson to play in back-to-back situations, as was the case last Sunday and Monday against Florida and Tampa.
Lalime also has high praise for Condon for what he’s accomplished in the Senators net, including a franchise record stretch of playing in 27 consecutive games.
“I’m impressed a lot by Condon,” said Lalime.
“Kudos to him. He got a chance like he did and jumped on it. I saw a lot of him last season and I thought, with the Montreal lineup at the end of last year, he was giving them a chance to win every game.
“He had to deal with a lot of stuff last season and the adversity has made him a better goalie.”
Lalime remembers having a conversation with Condon in the opening weeks of the current season, when he was unsure of what was next as Pittsburgh claimed him off waivers from Montreal.
“He didn’t know what was going to happen and then, boom boom, just like that, he’s in Ottawa.”
There are some intriguing similarities between the start of their careers.
After battling his way up from the ECHL and AHL, Condon went 10-2-3 to start his NHL career with the Canadiens.
After battling his way up from the ECHL and IHL, Lalime kicked off his big league career in Pittsburgh with 14 wins and two ties in his first 16 games, setting a record for longest undefeated streak to start an NHL career.
But after being left unsigned by Pittsburgh and going back to the minors, his happiest NHL days came after he was traded to the Senators in 1999.
“It does bring back good memories,” Lalime said of the franchise record talk.
“Ottawa has always been a place that was great for my career and great for my family. When I see the numbers like this, it means I left my mark in Ottawa.”
The regular season win mark may soon be gone, but Lalime’s 2002 record of three shutouts in a single playoff series against Philadelphia, along with his 0.40 goals against average, should survive the test of time.
He’s a guy who can win games by himself. He’s one of the best goalies in the league when he gets hot.