Senators' goalie Craig Anderson looks poised to have a good season as he shutout the Sabres last night with 35 saves. Anderson was terrific all night long, positioning himself perfectly and not giving up too many rebounds.  Anderson had an amazing 1.69 goals against average in the regular season and a great .941 save percentage, although it was in only 24 games. At 32 years old he should be in his goaltending prime.  Expect him to have a big year, and he is a solid number one fantasy goalie. Defenseman Erik Karlsson scored the game winner for Ottawa with only over a minute left in the game. We view Karlsson as the premier fantasy defenseman in the NHL.  Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller was the subject of numerous trade rumors during the offseason, but has remained with the Sabres. He was simply outstanding last night as well with 45 saves.  Buffalo should struggle to score goals this year, but this is a promising start for Miller to get back to the player he was a few years ago.  Which Kane Are We Talking About?:  In the Bible it states that "Cain slew Able and went off to the land of Nod east of Eden".  Well Evander Kane was the slewer last night, as he had a goal and two assists in Winnipeg's victory over the Los Angeles Kings.  At this point we have to wonder which Kane is the better fantasy option, Patrick or Evander.  Both are looking like top fantasy forward picks.  But Patrick is a well established star while many fantasy players may not be aware of Evander's potential. This guy is only 22 years old, but he has been in the NHL for four years.  He could have a real breakout year this season.  Don't forget about him.  Other Fantasy Game Notes: Rookie forward Nathan MacKinnon continues to impress the Colorado management. The 18 year old has 3 assists in the first two games, and he is playing on a line with P.A. Parenteau and Jamie McGinn. He is getting top quality ice time as evidenced by his 4:42 minutes on the  power play.  He may hit a wall later in the season, but the kid looks like a great keeper...Pekka Rinne continues to struggle in net for Nashville as he allowed 3 goals last night to Colorado.  At least he lasted the whole game and had 33 saves.  The Predators offense looks mediocre at best, so Rinne could struggle for wins this year...Michael Grabner had a big night for the New York Islanders as he had two goals and an assist in last night's win over the Devils. Grabner has tremendous speed, and he once scored 34 goals in the NHL, but he is ...

Anderson had a roller coaster of a year in 2012-13. He started the season 8-4-2 with a 1.47 GAA and a .952 SV% before spraining his ankle in mid-February. He missed the rest of February, all of March and the first week in April for a total of 19 games. When he returned he went 4-5-0 with a 2.02 GAA and .917 SV% which brought his totals to 1.69 and .941; he led the NHL in both categories. This year the Senators should be a playoff team again and Anderson should have another good season.

The Senators surprised a lot of people with their performance last season, especially when star defenseman Erik Karlsson went down early with an injury. They finished 7th in the Eastern Conference, beat Montreal handily in the first round before losing to Pittsburgh in the second round. Ottawa was very much shocked this offseason when long time forward and Captain, Daniel Alfredsson, decided to jump ship after 17 years and go to Detroit hoping to finally win the Stanley Cup.  Don't know that he is going to have a better chance there than in Ottawa.  It's sort of like Marian Hossa moving from team to team trying to do the same thing a few years ago. It finally worked out for him just like it worked out for Ray Bourque in Colorado moving from Boston.  Jason Spezza is now the Captain of this team, and they have enough talent to make some noise in the NHL East.  Erik Karlsson should be fully recovered from his tendon injury, and when healthy he is the best fantasy defenseman in the NHL.  Forward Bobby Ryan should really flourish after his trade from Anaheim.  Goaltender Craig Anderson was terrific in the regular season.  This team is going to be something to be reckoned with in the NHL this year.     Goalies    The Senators will put their trust again in Craig Anderson as their starting goalie, despite what happened in the playoffs against Pittsburgh. Anderson was simply sensational in the regular season last year despite missing six weeks with an ankle injury. He went 12-9-2 in 24 starts, with a NHL leading 1.69 goals against average, a mind numbing .941 save percentage and 3 shutouts.  He played well against Montreal in the first round of the playoffs and then, unfortunately, got lit up by the Penguins. At 32 years of age he is in his goaltender prime.  He is 6'2" tall, although he only weighs about 180 pounds.  He has good positioning, and is very quick. The big complaint about him is rebound control, but he has gotten much better at this.   If he doesn't hurt his hand again he should win about 35+ games.  Robin Lehner is the backup.   The 22 years old Swede was pretty solid in relief last year with a 5-3-4 record a .936 save percentage and a 2.20 goals against average.  The Senators are in good shape in goal.  Defense Ottawa has the human superman, Erik Karlsson as their top defenseman. Karlsson, unfortunately, got hurt on a freak play last season where his tendon was torn.  Some poolies may pass him by because of that.  Don't do that.  He most ...

Anderson allowed six goals on 37 shots in Ottawa's 7-3 loss to the Penguins in Game 4. He now has the 11th ranked GAA in the playoffs (2.66) and dropped from third to seventh in SV% (.928). He was still good despite giving up six goals, he will need to bounce back in Game 5.

Anderson was outstanding in Game 3 allowing just one goal on 50 shots in 87 minutes of playing time. The performance moved him up to third among playoff goalies in SV% (.940) and seventh in GAA (2.17). He will need to continue his strong play in Game 4 if the Sens are going to knot the series up at two games a piece.

Anderson allowed four goals on 30 shots in the 4-1 loss in Game 1. He will be under siege all series and will need to play outstanding if the Sens are going to have a chance.

Craig Anderson was great in the Senators 4-1 series win over the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. He posted the fifth best GAA (1.80) and was tied for second in SV% (.950). He has the daunting task of facing Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Jarome Iginla, Kris Letang... The list goes on and on with this Penguins team. Anderson will need to be Ottawa's best player in this series if they're going to shock the Penguins.

OTTAWA (7) vs. PITTSBURGH (1) MUST-STARTS Ottawa: Erik Karlsson, Craig Anderson, Daniel Alfredsson Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Kris Letang, Chris Kunitz, Jarome Iginla SLEEPERS Ottawa: Kyle Turris, Sergei Gonchar, Milan Michalek, Cory Conacher Pittsburgh: Brenden Morrow, Paul Martin, Jussi Jokinen, Tomas Vokoun read more

Anderson stopped 26 of 28 shots in a 3-2 overtime win on Tuesday. The Senators look to close out the series tonight when it will be Anderson vs. Budaj in goal.

Anderson played very well in a penalty filled Game 3. He stopped 33 of 34 shots in a 6-1 win to take a 2-1 series lead. Anderson ranks seventh in GAA (2.01) and first in SV% (.949) so far in the playoffs.