Ottawa Senators‘ undrafted 2nd year goalie Andrew Hammond(30) is making a strong argument to stay in between the pipes as the team pushes its’ winning efforts towards a playoff berth.
Initially recalled from affiliate Binghamton Senators on an emergency basis to serve as back-up he was pressed into action and maybe a bit unimpressive letting in a pair of goals on 5 shots in a deflating loss.
The 6’1″ 194 lbs. net minder got the nod when their other number one goaltender also went down with injury (Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner for anyone keeping track) and got the victory in Montreal, of all places.
At this point he’s basically their go-to goalie down the stretch and he’s getting it done – big.
The sort of late to arrive 27-year old played a boatload of 119 games at Bowling Green State University but never had a winning record.
It’s also not like he’s shutting the door on opponents this season in the minors. In his rookie campaign he managed a 25-19-3 record with a 2.81 GAA and a .910 SV% in 48 AHL games but this year he’s only 7-13 with a 3.51 GAA and an .898 SV% on a club that struggles to string together back-to-back w’s.
Since his first start, he’s posted a tidy 5-0 record with a 1.31 GAA and a .951 SV% along with 2 straight shutouts.
This mirrors his one and only other appearance, a relief effort in a single game last year, where he didn’t let up a goal with 11 stops in 34:31 minutes.
He’s only signed through the end of this season.
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