Can Craig Anderson Lead the Senators to a Deep Playoff Run?

        If you didn't watch Game 5 between the Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers, definitely check out the highlights. Craig Anderson stopped 41 shots, en route to a 1-0 shutout over the Rangers. Anderson was simply superb. There's no other way to put it. If the Senators are going to make a deep playoff run, this guy has to be Ottawa's best player; and he's been just that, so far this postseason. Anderson has been a workhorse for the Senators all season, playing almost all of their games, before suffering a minor injury late in the season.
        Every year in the playoffs, the team with the hot goaltender usually wins the Stanley Cup. Look at Tim Thomas for Boston last year, or Antti Niemi in 2010. Heck, J.S. Giguere took the 7th seed Mighty Ducks of Anaheim all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003. Craig Anderson can be that guy for the Ottawa Senators. They have a team that is built for the playoffs, with Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Erik Karlsson leading the way offensively. With all of these talented players, and Craig Anderson being the backbone of this team, Ottawa is a major dark house in the playoffs this year.
        With Anderson, Ottawa can be the second coming of the 2003 Mighty Ducks, having a goalie that can carry a team that finished in the bottom of the conference. The Senators have the potential to be the Cinderella team of 2012. No one picked them beating the Rangers in the first round, but they're one win away from doing so. I know, Ottawa hasn't made it past the first round yet, but if they get by the Rangers, the Senators will be a very dangerous team going forward in the playoffs.