Craig Anderson Making Case to Stick As Capitals’ NHL Playoffs Starter

Every NHL organization is looking for that next, great young goaltender to take control of a team’s net and usher a franchise forward and into long-term playoff success. It’s a sound idea, but not one that always plays itself as injuries and other unforeseen circumstances change even the best of plans.

Case in point, the Washington Capitals have a third-string goaltender who is out there proving age is nothing more than a number and despite being a “senior” in the NHL, he can still be tremendously effective. No one expected Craig Anderson to be doing what he’s doing. In fact, few expected he would actually be playing at this point in the season. Still, he’s giving the Capitals a chance in a hard-fought series against the Boston Bruins.

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Craig Anderson Saving the Capitals

Let’s be honest, how many of you reading this learned for the first time on Saturday that Craig Anderson even played for the Washington Capitals? For fans who don’t necessarily pay close attention to the Caps, his being inserted into Game 1 of the series against the Boston Bruins came as a bit of a shock. Moreover, a lot of fans probably didn’t know he has a .929 career playoff save percentage and ranks fourth all-time among goalies playing 20 games or more.

Anderson, who is now 39 years and 362 days old, is the oldest goaltender to earn a Stanley Cup Playoffs win with the Capitals. He stopped 21 of 22 shots he faced in relief of Vitek Vanecek on May 15th and made 44 saves in a difficult 4-3 OT loss in Game 2 Monday night.

He earned his 24th career playoff win, but more than that, he’s proving that the Capitals were smart to sign him in the off chance something like what has happened, might happen. The Capitals knew they wanted an experienced backup. It’s why they brought in Henrik Lundqvist. When that didn’t pan out, the organization went with a guy who has a proven track record of coming up big when it matters.

His Experience Has Been Invaluable

While age doesn’t mean much, experience certainly does. Coach Peter Laviolette said, “The way he’s handled himself the entire time he’s been here has been a really positive. He’s been a (good) influence on our young goaltenders, leading every day with a good work ethic. He’s just been really good.” The coach added, “To get an opportunity in the first two games, and to play the way he has, that’s really helped our team. When you’re talking about that experience, they generated more (Monday) but he continued to make saves.”

Not everything has been perfect, but he’s proving that being “well rested” hasn’t affected his game. He’s making key saves at key times and making it a difficult decision for the coach, if and when Ilya Samsonov is ready to return from the COVID-19 protocol list.

Some will say that the Caps can’t win this series without putting one of their two starters back in. Anderson might have something to say about this when all is said and done.

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