After taking a handful of pucks to the head in-game and during practice, Andrew Hammond will make his return Wednesday night as the Ottawa Senators visit the Washington Capitals. It will be Hammond’s first start since Nov. 12th after dealing with a concussion.

Injury History

Hammond was one of many victims of the concussion bug that hit the Ottawa Senators, affecting the likes of players such as Clarke MacArthur, Marc Methot, and Mika Zibanejad. At the time, concussions almost seemed contagious for the Senators. As the team moves past that plague of injuries, this is one more step in that direction.

For Hammond, this is not his first time being held out of the lineup due to injury this year. Hammond suffered a groin injury during the preseason, taking him out of the lineup for the first handful of games.

The Doubt Surrounding Andrew Hammond

There have been many questions surrounding Hammond’s re-signing after the amazing run that he led the Senators on last season. The debate on how good “The Hamburglar” actually is always reverts back to the fact that he has a small NHL sample size to prove his worth. And albeit small, Hammond has been quite impressive this year. Through just 4 starts, Hammond has a .930 SV% and an impressive 2.42 GAA. Most notably, in those four starts Hammond has collected at least a point in each, with a record of 2-0-2.

During his recovery from his concussion, Hammond was sent down to Binghamton for a conditioning stint where he played two games. Uncharacteristically, Hammond allowed eight goals in two starts for Binghamton before being called back up. Having spent a lot of time in Binghamton without much success, Hammond brushed off the struggles he had on the stint.

“For whatever reason, I just don’t seem to have that much success down there,” he said, as reported by the Ottawa Sun. “But I feel good about my game now.”

For Hammond, this situation is familiar. He seems to thrive in situations with low expectations. For some odd reason, maybe he is right. His NHL stats could certainly suggest that. Since his surprising entry last season, Hammond has only lost 1 game in regulation with an overall record of 22-1-4.