ScottM Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 After a fast start to the season, the Senators have hit a rocky patch as of late to say the least. Having once been as high as second in the Atlantic Division, Ottawa is now just barely inside the playoff picture at the moment. I can't help but wonder if it might be time to try to recapture the spark from last season. Hammond's sample size is relatively small right now, as he has only played in six games this season, but his numbers are a bit better than Anderson's. They both face an average of 33-34 shots per 60 minutes, so it doesn't really appear to be the play of the defense in front of them. So far, Hammond has been just a little better from all appearances. I'm not trying to throw Anderson under the bus. He hasn't been stellar, but he also hasn't been terrible. Having a better defensive unit (basically, everyone but Karlsson, Methot, and possibly Wideman could use an upgrade) would help, but right now that's not going to happen. So then, this is my question: should the Senators start giving Hammond a few more games, hoping to tap into the magic from last season? I don't think it's time to take the starting job away from Anderson, but easing his load might be good for him, and more games for Hammond could potentially help the psyche of the team. I for one, would like to see the coach give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 @ScottM I've thought Anderson has been nothing short of horrible. I had no faith in Hammond coming into this year. I really thought he was a Cinderella fluke who caught lightning in a bottle (I had a hell of a good time watching that last year, though). All that said, I absolutely give Hammond some starts. I agree that you just don't hand him the starting job, but you start giving him 4 out of 10 starts at least and see if a trend develops. I don't know what is in their pipeline, but they may need to start looking for alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 @ruxpin Anderson has had an okay save percentage. His GAA has been bad though, thanks to a lackluster defense. But he certainly hasn't been the top five guy he has been at times in his career. What you're suggesting for Hammond is pretty much what I have in mind. Right now, there's absolutely nothing to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 After last night, my calls for this are even stronger. The Sens, despite a lackluster performance in the first two periods were in that game until Anderson's late meltdown. Four goals in the third period and three in the last five minutes is too much. I think Anderson is being overworked, and when his recent injury history, the team is asking for him to break down again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Well, looks like after the disaster for Anderson the game before, The Hamburglar was given his shot tonight against the Isles.....and they lit him up for 5 goals on 34 shots. Ouch. That said, it IS just the one game...Hammond hasn't had regular playing time, and seeing as how the Senators are hurting (literally) all over the place with guys in and out of the lineup, I say Ottawa just may as well keep throwing Hammond in there for a few more games, while Craig Anderson attempts to get his head on right. Truthfully though, the entire Sens team looks like they need to get their heads on right. I get the fact that key guys are missing here and there (Michalek is the latest victim tonight), but the team is simply playing uninspired hockey in just about all facets of the game. With the possible exception of the 2nd period tonight, for instance, the Islanders, top to bottom, just took it right to the Sens.....a scene that Ottawa, unfortunately for them, is seeing far too often these days. Not a whole lot a guy like Hammond can do, even if he were playing at his peak, if the team in front of him is being out skated, out hustled, and just generally out played, but the Sens need to start SOMEWHERE here, before things get way out of hand for playoff contention, and since Anderson has been a mess, I see no reason not to give Hammond a few go-rounds as the number one for the foreseeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I asked this elsewhere, but I'll ask it here: How safe is Dave Cameron's job at this point? The whole team is off the tracks. Something is very wrong besides injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 On 1/23/2016 at 9:58 PM, ruxpin said: I asked this elsewhere, but I'll ask it here: How safe is Dave Cameron's job at this point? The whole team is off the tracks. Something is very wrong besides injuries. I don't know if Cameron is at risk yet, but yeah, something is wrong. Stone, Turris, and Anderson aren't performing anywhere near what we need from them right now. Honestly, I'm completely fed up with Anderson right now. I think there's absolutely nothing to lose by giving the reins to Hammond right now. And yes, I'm saying that even after last night's shutout. That kind of performance has been the exception lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 58 minutes ago, ScottM said: Honestly, I'm completely fed up with Anderson right now. I think there's absolutely nothing to lose by giving the reins to Hammond right now. And yes, I'm saying that even after last night's shutout. That kind of performance has been the exception lately. I can sympathize with your opinion - I've spent far more time following the Sens than I ever have with Ryan, Karlsson and Anderson on my FHL team. "Inconsistent" is somewhat kind. That said, I'm not sure that any GM or coach is going to look at a guy who's 3-5-2 with a higher GAA and a higher SV% and just hand him the reins of his franchise. Especially not coming off a five-goals-against, .853 outing like Hamburglar put up against the Isles - following seven goals and a .806 SV% in his previous start against the Caps. That's not all on Hammond but he's certainly been involved. As bad as Anderson has been at times - and I know he's been bad at times - there's been nothing out of Hammond this season (aside from being "not Anderson") that gives me any immediate hope he changes things for the Sens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 3 hours ago, radoran said: I can sympathize with your opinion - I've spent far more time following the Sens than I ever have with Ryan, Karlsson and Anderson on my FHL team. "Inconsistent" is somewhat kind. That said, I'm not sure that any GM or coach is going to look at a guy who's 3-5-2 with a higher GAA and a higher SV% and just hand him the reins of his franchise. Especially not coming off a five-goals-against, .853 outing like Hamburglar put up against the Isles - following seven goals and a .806 SV% in his previous start against the Caps. That's not all on Hammond but he's certainly been involved. As bad as Anderson has been at times - and I know he's been bad at times - there's been nothing out of Hammond this season (aside from being "not Anderson") that gives me any immediate hope he changes things for the Sens. The one thing I'd say in disagreement to that is that Hammond has had so few starts that one bad performance skewed his stats. Of his 11 appearances, in 73% of them he's had a save percentage of at least .900. Anderson has managed that in only 66% of his. Hammond has only been under .850 once, while Anderson has been under .800 twice, in cluding that atrocious four goals on seven shots performance against the Devils a few days ago. I get what your saying, but Anderson scares me a lot more right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilldoc Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 and just like that Anderson throws a shut-out against the slumping Rags..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 1 hour ago, ScottM said: The one thing I'd say in disagreement to that is that Hammond has had so few starts that one bad performance skewed his stats. Of his 11 appearances, in 73% of them he's had a save percentage of at least .900. Anderson has managed that in only 66% of his. Hammond has only been under .850 once, while Anderson has been under .800 twice, in cluding that atrocious four goals on seven shots performance against the Devils a few days ago. I get what your saying, but Anderson scares me a lot more right now. Well the two bad starting performances. In a row. The last two games. I believe the job is there to be taken. He's just got to do a better job of taking it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 2 hours ago, radoran said: Well the two bad starting performances. In a row. The last two games. I believe the job is there to be taken. He's just got to do a better job of taking it. Yeah, that's very true. And I wish that he'd start doing that. At least when he relieved Anderson against the Devils he stopped the bleeding. He definitely showed Anderson up that night. On a semi-related note, I think I look at some of those numbers way too deeply. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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