Silver Seven 2014 Report Cards: Goalies

11 staff members assigned grades for each player on the Ottawa Senators providing us with aggregate final grades. Unfortunately, playoff performances don't count this year.

Up first: goaltenders. Since Andrew Hammond and Nathan Lawson played a combined 47 minutes this season, they did not receive a grade. Last season, goaltending was a strength for the Senators. Take a look at how Ottawa's goalies ranked this season.

CRAIG ANDERSON C+

What a difference a year makes.

Last season: 24 GP, 12-9-2, 3 SO, 1.69 GAA, .941 SV%

This season: 53 GP, 25-16-8, 4 SO, 3.00 GAA, .911 SV%

Last year's grade: A

Craig Anderson provided Vezina-calibre goaltending last season, leading the league in goals against and save percentage. It was a remarkable year but a drop-off was always expected. However, Andy's numbers plummeted, especially in the first half of the season. While his play improved considerably in 2014, he still finished with slightly below-average numbers.

It's not fair to blame the change solely on Anderson. Ottawa's defense was sieve-like for most of the season and Andy suffered some minor injuries throughout the campaign. However, Anderson was Ottawa's number one goalie this season, a fact frequently reinforced by Paul MacLean. His performance in the first half of the season was simply not good enough from a starter and contributed to Ottawa missing the playoffs.

Highest grade: B

Lowest grade: C-

ROBIN LEHNER B-

Again, what a difference a year makes.

Last season: 12 GP, 5-3-4, 0 SO, 2.20 GAA, .936 SV%

This season: 36 GP, 12-15-6, 1 SO, 3.06 GAA, .913 SV%

Last year's grade: A

Lehner's first full season in the NHL was a mixed bag. Strong through the first half of the season when Craig Anderson was struggling, his elite play in the in the fall had some calling for MacLean to name him the starter. Unfortunately, Lehner faltered in 2014. Things went from bad to worse after the Olympic break for the sophomore. When Anderson went down with an injury, Robin Lehner was handed the starter's job and the results weren't pretty. Four times during that span he gave up five or more goals. Ottawa's playoff chances ended with Lehner in net and while he was poor during that period, the team in front of him also was also quite bad.

On a more positive note, Lehner rebounded from a tough March and finished the season with four consecutive wins and seven straight games with a save percentage of 92.1 or higher. C+ and B- are essentially the same, but less is expected of a second-year back-up goalie than a veteran starter.

Highest grade: B

Lowest grade: D