Craig Anderson will return to the Ottawa Senators’ net for the first time on Saturday since taking a series of absences to join his wife as she undergoes cancer treatments.
Senators coach Guy Boucher made the announcement on Saturday morning following the team’s morning skate at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. The Senators host the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon. Anderson has not manned the Senators’ net since an 8-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 5.
Since then, Anderson has left the team multiple times to help his wife, Nicholle, through treatments. Nicholle is battling nasopharyngeal cancer, a rare form of cancer that affects the head and neck area. The nasopharynx is located in the upper part of the throat, behind the nose, and is an important passageway for air traveling to the lungs.
On Jan. 16, Nicholle updated her blog to announce she had received her last chemotherapy treatment. At that point, she said she was three days away from her last radiation treatment:
Since we have three days left, Craig and I refer to the guys’ hockey jersey numbers. We have Marc Methot left.
Boucher said that the team was leaving Saturday’s start decision up to Anderson. If he felt up to it, he would take the net. The 35-year-old netminder is 12-6-1 on the season with a 2.46 goals against average.
The Senators acquired Penguins backup Mike Condon in November for a fifth-round draft pick to take over the net in Anderson’s absence. Condon started 29 games for Ottawa, putting up a sterling 16-9-5 record that has the Senators in a playoff position.