The road to recovery is long and filled with many setbacks, so any opportunity to release one’s repressed feelings is a step in the right direction. With that in mind, I begin the first of many Daily Detox posts with a simple request: Give Craig Anderson a day off before he commits seppuku with his goalie stick.
Some have already touched on the topic, like Adrian Dater of the Denver Post did here, so the premise is hardly new: As many have noticed, Craig Anderson has logged an absurd amount of work in net this year, and he is beginning to show the representative signs of fatigue. He’s already set Avalanche records for most consecutive starts (23), total starts (68), minutes logged (4,047) and shots faced (2,146). On average, Anderson faces a ridiculous 31.5 shots per game. The guy sees more rubber than your mother. (The only difference is that he turns some of it away.)
Oh and also: Anderson isn’t likely to get much rest now that Calgary has caught Colorado in the standings, so more consecutive starts against a reasonably talented slate of remaining opponents. Should the Avalanche qualify for the playoffs, he could conceivably match his career start total (88) this season alone. I’m sure he’s thrilled by this.
So please, Coach Sacco: going forward, let Peter Budaj get a few more starts over the course of the season. Craig Anderson will thank you for the time off and the team will be better off for it. Well, mostly better. You can’t fix David Koci overnight, I guess.
Avalanche Anonymous 