Anderson also missed 17 games with a knee injury, which sidelined him from Mar. 1 to April 5, when the Jackets forced overtime against the Pittsburgh Penguins to secure a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
Playing 15 games fewer than he did in 2016-17, Anderson still set career-highs in goals, points, shots, shot attempts, ice time and the main two puck-possession measures (Corsi and Fenwick).
He spent a good chunk of the season skating opposite of star left wing Artemi Panarin on the top line, flanking rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois on the right wing, and also played more on special teams. He scored his first career power-play goal in the NHL and averaged nearly a minute per game shorthanded.
Anderson's salary-cap hit increased by nearly a million dollars after the holdout, but his overall contribution to a 97-point season for Columbus was worth every penny.
Here's a closer look at Anderson's season by the numbers and how it impacted the Blue Jackets:
THE BREAKDOWN
0
The number of days Anderson spent in training camp, which was a point of contention for coach John Tortorella all season. It didn't seem to affect Anderson much, if at all, because he hit the ice in great shape. Still, as Tortorella said, it also makes you wonder what he can do in future seasons with a full camp and exhibition slate to get ready.
19
Anderson's goal total, which topped his previous career-high of 17, which were scored in 15 more games in 2016-17. Anderson scored 18 of his 19 goals at even strength, five were game-winners to set a career-high, and two of those were scored in overtime. Despite his time missed with the injury and contract situation, Anderson still finished fourth on the team in goals, just one behind Dubois.
30
Anderson wasn't just a goal-scorer, as shown with his 11 assists and career-high 30 points. He finished the regular season with one more point than he posted as a rookie but did it in 15 fewer games. Anderson did get a little off-course during his stint on the top line, dragging the puck around the offensive zone too much, but he got back to using physicality to jumpstart his game following his return from the knee injury.
198
Number of additional minutes Anderson logged in 63 games this season than he played in 78 games in 2016-17, bumping his average time on ice from 12:01 per game to 18:02. This was another benefit of playing on the top line for an extended stretch, which also boosted his total shifts.
2.98
Anderson's shooting percentage dipped, from 14.3 to 10.1 percent, but the decrease wasn't a surprise considering his number of shots and attempts this year. Anderson set career-highs in each, with 318 attempts and 188 shots on goal, which was an average of 5.04 attempts and 2.98 shots per game (another career-high mark). Anderson's propensity to shoot the puck tailed off, but he got back to firing pucks after his return from the knee sprain.
13.3
Another area where Anderson's numbers shot up was offensive-zone time, which was another benefit of playing so often with Panarin and Dubois. His previous role, as a hard-hitting checker on the third line, led to his offensive zone start percentage (OZ%) finishing well below 50 percent in 2016-17. This season, he made a whopping 59.1 percent of his zone starts in the offensive end of the rink, which was an increase of 13.3 percent from the year before.
