Anderson makes 30 saves in final NHL game to lead Sabres to victory

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson summed up his NHL future with three short words Thursday night: "This is it."
Twenty years, 709 games, 319 wins and nearly 20,000 pucks stopped; it all came to a crescendo as Anderson made 30 saves in a 4-3 overtime victory over his former club, the Ottawa Senators, on Fan Appreciation Night at KeyBank Center.
"I think I left it all out there," Anderson said. "At the end of the day, I did everything I possibly could to make sure that I was competitive and gave the team a chance to win. You've got to be honest with yourself and that's just the way this game goes. Father Time always catches up to you."
Anderson was showered with love from fans and teammates after Casey Mittelstadt tallied 1:18 into overtime to punctuate the final chapter of Anderson's career.
The entire team swarmed Anderson at the opposite end of the ice.

"I love playing with that guy. Being around him is great," forward Alex Tuch said. "It was great to get a win for him, in overtime, against the Senators. It's a little bit of a storybook ending for him I think and that's just special."
Anderson, who is Buffalo's nominee for the 2022-23 Masterton Trophy (an award he won in 2017), has suited up for six different NHL clubs during a career that spanned two decades. He has left his mark on each one along the way, but until his stint in Buffalo, his impact on the Senators has been arguably the strongest.
The entire Ottawa bench waited for Anderson on the ice following the celebrations to congratulate their franchise's all-time leader in games played (435) and wins (202).
"It just says what type of guy he is and how well liked he is around the league," Tuch said. "He's a little goofy, a little quirky but that's not a bad thing. That's the best part about him."
At the head of the line was Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk, who had just turned 3 years old when Anderson made his NHL debut on November 30, 2002.
"Even though you don't think you have an impact on guys, at the end of the day, how you treat people and what you say to them, it goes a long way," Anderson, the oldest player in the NHL at 41 years and 327 days, said.

The hallmark of a good goaltender is whether he gives his team a chance to win. It's a benchmark that Anderson has lived by throughout his career. Thursday night, Anderson gave the Sabres a chance to do just that.
After Claude Giroux directed a puck past Anderson with his skate to give the Senators a 3-2 lead in the second period, he stopped the next 13 shots to allow his team to pull even and set the stage for Mittelstadt's heroics.
"I knew the guys were battling hard and we were going to make it a fight to the end," Anderson said. "I just had to make sure I did my job to give ourselves a chance to get back tied up."
What the future holds for Anderson is still anyone's guess. He's given no thought to the prospect of a coaching or managerial role in the future. In the eyes of Sabres head coach Don Granato, Anderson has already fulfilled part of that role in a goalie room that features three other young netminders who have played no more than 50 games each.
"He did a lot of coaching when he was here," Granato said. "He helped me personally with conveying messages. He was an easy guy for me to bounce things off of."

One of Anderson's greatest attributes is his ability to listen, be it to coaches, the goalies in the room or his body. When the COVID-19 pandemic halted hockey three years ago, Anderson found his hockey future hanging in the balance, but he knew he had another chapter to write.
"(I was) able to find a home here where a GM and a coach came in and believed in me when I was more or less a washed-up old guy," Anderson said. "You find someone that falls in love with you, you do everything you possibly can to give them the best version of yourself."
Among all active goaltenders, Anderson is fourth in games played (709), fifth in wins (319) and eighth in shutouts (43). All-time among U.S.-born netminders, Anderson ranks fifth in games played, fifth in wins and third in shutouts.
Anderson has given the best version of himself primarily to the guys in his dressing room, but it's his teammates at home that he's most devoted to. His wife Nicholle, who beat a rare form of throat cancer in 2017, was on hand along with their two boys, Jake and Levi, to soak up the moment as the fans chanted his name.
Before the game, his sons surprised him in the locker room to announce the starting lineup.

"This is what makes it special. My kids and family will remember this for the rest of their lives," Anderson said. "This is the way it's supposed to be. Things happen for a reason.
"This was the way it was supposed to play out. They get a point; we get a point. We win in overtime. You couldn't ask for a better story."

How it happened

FIRST PERIOD
The two teams played a scoreless first period as the Sabres outshot the Senators by a slim margin 12-11. Buffalo held a 6-4 edge in the high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five, generating several Grade-A chances early against Ottawa.

Skinner fed Alex Tuch who was turned away by Sogaard at the doorstep 3:43 into the period. Later, Tuch returned the favor and dished the puck to Skinner for what looked like a tap in, but his shot sailed over the net.

Thompson was denied on a breakaway with 5:12 to play in the period as the kept the pressure on the Senators.
The Sabres constant pressure boiled over when Tyler Kleven went to the penalty box for slashing at 15:35. Buffalo couldn't find the back of the net on the power play. Jack Quinn came streaking in on a 2-on-1 with JJ Peterka but Sogaard got a piece of Quinn's shot and deflected it into the netting to thwart the Sabres best chance.
SECOND PERIOD
Jokiharju opened the scoring less than a minute into the second period when he snapped a wrist shot past Sogaard to put the Sabres ahead 1-0.

Olofsson added to the lead when he swatted a loose puck into the net that squeaked through Sogaard to put the Sabres up 2-0.

As quickly as Buffalo pulled ahead, Ottawa thundered back with three unanswered goals.
Stutzle unloaded a one-timer from the right circle on the power play to cut the Sabres lead in half while Tage Thompson was in the penalty box for hooking at 4:27.
Gambrell knotted the score at two apiece at 6:11 and Giroux put a puck past Anderson at 12:36 to push the Senators into the lead. Giroux's goal was challenged to see if he kicked the puck into the net, but the call on the ice was upheld.
THIRD PERIOD
The Sabres got a power play chance early in the period to draw even with the Senators. Artem Zub was called for interference 1:33 into the period. Thompson scored on a one-timer from between the circles from Skinner to tie the game at 3-3.

OVERTIME
The Sabres buried their only shot in the overtime period as Mittelstadt potted his 14th goal of the season.

He has now scored overtime goals in each of the last two home games of the regular season.

What we learned

1. According to NHL Stats, the age gap between Craig Anderson and Devon Levi (20 years, 220 day age difference) is the third largest age gap in an NHL game between the starting and backup goaltender.
   The only larger age differences: Jacques Plante and Ron Low in 1972-73 (21 years, 156 days difference), and Johnny Bower and Al Smith in 1968-69 (21 years, 2 days difference).
   2. With his power-play goal in the third period, Thompson became the third Sabres skater to record at least 47 goals and 47 or more assists in a single season. Pat LaFontaine (53+95) and Alexander Mogilny (76+51) each did so in 1992-93. Thompson is the eighth Buffalo skater to reach 94 points in a single season.
   3. Tuch registered an assist on Thompson's goal and has now matched the longest assist streak of his career (five games).
   4. Tuch was named the recipient of the Rick Martin Memorial Award before the game. As voted on by the fans, the award is meant to recognize the player that best exemplifies what it means to be a Buffalo Sabre through on-ice excellence, resiliency and dedication to the community.

Dr. William Ziter, an original Sabres season ticket member, was named the 2022-23 Fan of the Year and presented Tuch with The Rico.

Up next

The Sabres travel to Columbus for the final game of the season Friday night. Puck drop from Nationwide Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550. Pregame coverage begins at 7 on MSG.