Hand injury of netminder Craig Anderson may dent Ottawa Senators playoff hopes-NHL News
The Ottawa Senators are on the verge of suffering a serious blow to their playoff hopes if a replacement to the goaltender, Craig Anderson, who is out of the side for six to eight weeks maximum due to a hand injury, is not found.
Anderson is reported to have cut his right hand accidentally while preparing food at his home following the team’s win over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, February 22, 2012.
He was in the hospital on Thursday, February 23, 2012, getting treatment on his hand and is expected to rest for at least 10 days before the next medical examination.
Some media reports have claimed that the player will require a surgery and the recovery could take a rather longer period of time.
A section of media has reported that the player will need to be examined by a specialist and the results will ascertain the exact recovery time.
The player could possibly be out for upto eight weeks, which will be a huge setback for Senators in their hopes of securing a berth into the playoff round of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Senators’ general manager, Bryan Murray, stands vigilant to the developments around the netminder’s injury and is getting ready to bring the replacement, most probably through the hiring of a new goaltender.
This may not be an easy task for the GM in the wake of fast approaching NHL trade deadline of February 27, 2012.
Their chances of finding a right replacement might be affected given the fact that market has become very competitive during the closing period.
Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager, Brian Burke, has also underlined the competitive nature of the market at the moment and the difficulty he faced in finding a replacement for the team’s goaltender.
For the time being, Senators are expected to recall Robin Lehner, a goaltender from their American Hockey League (NHL) affiliate in Binghamton. Lehner might be available on Friday, February 24, 2012.
The player, who is coming from a junior league, will obviously not match the talent and skills of their professional netminder.
A former NHL goaltender, Greg Millen, said of Lehner with Senators:
“They could go with the young kid (Lehner), but that’s a lot of pressure to put on a kid at this time of year, especially going down the stretch. If they do decide to look, there’s a lot of teams trying to get goalies and there’s hardly any out there. That’s
pretty challenging.”
Senators have not spoken anything about replacing Anderson in the near future, as they are hopeful for the player’s recovery.
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