MONTREAL -- Filling in for injured starter Craig Anderson in the Ottawa Senators net was a great adventure for six-foot-seven goaltender Ben Bishop. Nike Air Max 90 Sale . But with Anderson announced as the starter for Friday nights game against the Canadiens in Montreal, Bishop was bumped to the job of backup netminder. The Denver native can take heart in having some impressive moments while starting seven straight NHL games. He was 3-2-2 with an excellent 1.96 goals-against average and .925 save percentage over the stretch. "Its been a lot of fun," the 25-year-old said. "It was a great situation for me, that they wanted me at the (trade) deadline like that and then to get a chance to play some games. "To play seven games in a row was really good for experience, especially in the race were in. Theyre big games. Hopefully we can keep going and go far in the playoffs." Anderson sat out 12 games after he sliced the small finger on his right hand in a kitchen accident on Feb. 23. Unsure of their goaltending situation with regular backup Alex Auld struggling, Senators GM Bryan Murray sent a 2013 second-round draft pick to the St. Louis Blues just before the trade deadline for Bishop, who had been brilliant this season for AHL Peoria. Auld started the first game after Andersons injury, a 5-3 loss. Then callup Robin Lehner got four starts, winning two (including a shutout win over Boston) and losing two, before he was sent back to AHL Binghamton so that Bishop could get his chance. Bishop played well enough to raise the question of whether the Senators should give him regular work even with Anderson back. When asked about it, coach Paul MacLean was quick to pronounce that "Craig Anderson is the No. 1 goalie and were going to play it that way." Thats fine with Bishop, whose last outing was a 33-save 1-0 loss at home to New Jersey. "Nothing really changes," he said. "I still have to prepare like Im going to play, but obviously, Craigs going to play most of the games. "You just want to play well. Hopefully I can keep it going and not get too high or low. It wasnt my goal to prove to other people that I could play because deep down inside, you know you can play at this level. I knew coming into it I would fare all right, but Im happy with the starts." Captain Daniel Alfredsson said all the backups got the job done in Andersons absence. "I dont know if it changes anything, he said. "Every team goes through injuries and it gives opportunities to different people. "Robin played really good when he came in at first and when Ben came up, same thing. He gave us a chance to win every night. You can say its tough to lose your starting goaltender, and (Bishop) is playing really well, but both those guys did a great job. We could have had more wins if our offence had been a little hotter." Centre Jason Spezza noted the Sens were in a playoff position by seven points when Anderson was hurt and were still six ahead when he came back, so the goaltenders must have done the job. Bishop was drafted 85th overall by St. Louis in 2005. The former Maine Black Bear got into 13 games for the Blues over the last three seasons, but wasnt able to stick for long with the NHL club, although he had a long stretch two seasons ago where he was backup for the end of the season and into the playoffs. Now Anderson takes back the job of keeping the Senators in a playoff spot. Theyll need to hold off the charging Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres over the last three weeks of the regular season. "Its been a long time, a long four weeks," said Anderson. "Getting back in there is something Ive looked forward to." A silver lining is that he is well rested. "Rest is definitely a positive spin to put on this incident," he said. " Playing a lot of games can take a toll on a player. "Rest is definitely good. Look around the league at the some of the better teams and the better goaltenders. Theyve had a rest. A four-week break may not be the best situation but youve got to use it as a bonus to get recharged for the last little push." Nike Air Max 95 Womens . The Cubs return home after dropping two of three to Boston in their first trip to Fenway Park since the 1918 World Series. Even the lone game they won in that series came with a loss as outfielder Marlon Byrd was hit in the face by a pitch in Saturdays 9-3 win and spent the night at a local hospital. Cheap Nike Air Max Uk . Durie signed a contract extension with Toronto on Monday that will keep him with the Argos through the 2016 season. http://www.salenikeshoes.co.uk/nike-air-force-1-high/nike-air-force-1-womens.html . Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 25th minute by bending a stunning free kick from 40 metres (yards) out of reach of Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois before Radamel Falcao equalized with his 21st goal of the season a half hour later. But Ronaldo used another dipping shot -- this time from outside the left edge of the area -- in the 68th for his second, then added a late penalty to take his season tally to 52 goals in all competitions.I am very excited to start contributing to the TSN website on a regular basis with blogs and columns about the Ottawa Senators. In this space, I will be writing new and unique pieces about the team that you wont be able to find anywhere else. So naturally, in an attempt to come up with a fresh topic about the Ottawa Senators, I am going to start with a piece about their goaltending. Bet you didnt see that one coming. With Craig Anderson sidelined due to a neck injury, Robin Lehner has stepped up and seized the moment with a pair of much-needed wins for the club. Lehners performance in those two victories has many Sens fans suggesting that his time has arrived to be anointed the teams No. 1 netminder. Ottawa fans are so conditioned to not having one reliable goaltender; they almost dont seem to know what to do with two of them. But before you start thinking this situation has the potential to become a full-fledged goalie controversy, there are a few things you need to remember. The most important factor in the Ottawa crease is the contracts that both netminders have - specifically Anderson. There are 23 goaltenders in the NHL who have a bigger cap hit than Andersons $3.18 million contract, making it arguably the leagues best deal for a netminder. If he was healthy last season, Anderson would have been the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy and his performance in the playoffs against Montreal cemented his status as a legitimate No. 1 goalie. To put this in perspective, Anderson has a lower cap hit than both Devan Dubnyk and Ondrej Pavelec. When the Vancouver Canucks were in the midst of a goalie controversy last year with both Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo, the biggest catalyst for that storm was the latters ridiculous contract. The Canucks were spending more than $9 million in their crease and it seemed counterproductive to have one goalie making more than $5 million to be sitting at the end of the bench on a regular basis. The same thing happened in Pittsburgh last spring, when Marc-Andre Fleurys contract suddenly looked like a white elephant on the payroll during the playoffs when he lost his job to the more economical Tomas Vokoun. But in Ottawa, they are spending only $4 million combined on the position when you factor in Lehners $850,000 salary for this season. There is no financial element that would push Ottawa to a tipping point this season. Lehner is set to become a restricted free agent in July, but the club would still hold the hammer in those negotiations. When Bryan Murray signed Anderson to his four-year deal back in the spring of 2011, the consensus amongst Ottawa fans was that it was a great contract - except most of them didnt like the fourth year tacked on at the end. Nike Free 5.0 Mens. Ironically, that fourth year is the best thing that could have happened to the club, because now it buys them another year to figure out their long-term plan. If Andersons deal was set to expire this season, there would have been more pressure to try and either trade him or sign him to an extension. But now, Murray can let this situation breathe knowing he doesnt have to face a real pressure point until after this season at the earliest. Last season, the Ottawa general manager was forced to deal a goaltender because Ben Bishop was set to become a restricted free agent and the club knew it could no longer keep its three-headed monster in goal. That was a very real pressure point, since they did not want to lose Bishop as a restricted free agent - nor did they want to go through the exercise of signing him to a new contract only to have to turn around and trade him. That was a real pressure point for Murray and one that he doesnt have to deal with this season. Some fans are now suggesting Murray should have moved Anderson at the deadline last season and hung onto Bishop and Lehner, since he likely would have received more for the veteran netminder. But at the time Anderson was the most proven and stable goalie of the bunch and his contract was extremely reasonable for a No. 1 goaltender. And that last sentence remains true today: Of the three goaltenders, Anderson remains the most proven of that trio. The best parallel to the Anderson-Lehner situation could be the one that played out in Boston with Tim Tomas and Tuuka Rask. Those two goalies shared the crease for three full seasons and while it did get awkward at times, they did win a Stanley Cup in that situation. Thomas eventually orchestrated his own departure out of Boston, but that was after three full seasons of sharing the crease with a young prospect. Two capable netminders can share the workload for an extended period of time before something has to give. Were not anywhere near that point in Ottawa right now. The other thing to consider is that injuries can always play a factor in the goaltending equation. Its a long season ahead and both Lehner and Anderson could be heading over to Sochi to represent their countries in February. And if Sens fans have learned one thing over the years, its that when their goalie heads overseas for the Olympics, he doesnt always come back healthy. cheap nfl jerseyscheap soccer jerseys ' ' '
