How sports mean nothing - and everything Ottawa Senators goalie produces memorable shutout in Edmonton with the heaviest of hearts

There have been a handful of memorable goaltending performances in the history of the Ottawa Senators franchise:

Patrick Lalime racking up three consecutive shutouts in the 2002 playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Mike Brodeur carrying his own equipment up the ramp at Madison Square Garden in 2010 because he barely made it to the game on time – only to post a shutout win over the New York Rangers.

Pascal Leclaire saving 56 shots in a triple-overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2010 playoffs to stave off elimination.

But what Craig Anderson accomplished Sunday night – a 37-save shutout in Edmonton in his first game back after the club announced his wife Nicholle has been diagnosed with cancer – moves to the top of the list of impressive goaltending performances in franchise history.

Recency bias often clouds our judgment and prompts us to say, ‘That was the greatest performance I’ve ever seen’ just moments after a final whistle sounds.

But we can say with great confidence that we’ll always remember the night Anderson went into Edmonton and posted a shutout with the heaviest of hearts.

The mere fact that he flew from his family home in Florida to Edmonton at Nicholle’s urging was impressive enough. Given the travel and the mental fatigue, nobody would have blamed Anderson if he wasn’t sharp or allowed several goals. Anderson had carte blanche with the Sens fans and media heading into Sunday’s game; the rare instance when an entire hockey-mad market didn’t place any expectations on its goaltender. If Anderson had surrendered five goals last night, the Sens fan base would have been there to offer a supportive shoulder. And the media wouldn’t have surrounded his stall to ask pointed questions about his on-ice performance.

Even the most hardened journalists and broadcasters – who have been trained to stay neutral and objective – were pulling for Anderson last night. The old adage in our industry says to cheer for the story, not for the players. Last night, however, was the rare instance where it felt okay to do both because they were one and the same. In the final minutes of that game, we were all privately saying the same thing so as to not jinx it with a public declaration: “Please hockey gods, just let him have this shutout.”

As the final buzzer sounded and Anderson secured the shutout, Chris Cuthbert uttered a phrase on the TSN broadcast that melted the collective hearts of hockey fans: “That one was for you Nicholle.”

The tear-inducing moments didn’t stop there, as Anderson stepped back onto the ice as the game’s first star. His counterpart Cam Talbot stayed on the Oilers bench to cheer Anderson – the finest example of respect and sportsmanship that can be displayed. And until last night, I’d never heard an opposition building give a standing ovation to a goaltender who just shut out the home team. It was almost like the Oilers and their fan base felt privileged to play a secondary role in this story.

The Edmonton fans clearly understood what Craig and Nicholle Anderson have known for the past couple of weeks: That sports mean nothing; but they can also mean everything at the same time.

We saw it a few weeks ago when Dee Gordon hit an emotional home run in the first plate appearance for a Miami Marlins player after the tragic death of teammate Jose Fernandez. We felt it at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 when Joannie Rochette delivered an emotional bronze-medal performance just days after her mother suddenly passed away. And we witnessed it a few years ago when Brett Favre tossed four touchdowns in the first half of a Monday night game in Oakland with his father’s death weighing heavily on his mind. Ottawa fans will always remember the night when Wade Redden flew to Tampa in 2006 just hours after his mother's funeral and scored a goal and added two assists in a playoff win for the Senators.

Last night’s performance by Anderson was yet another reminder of why we love sports. It can be the ultimate distraction from our own daily stresses and anxieties. And when we see an athlete dealing with a real-life problem that we can relate to, it makes them more relatable to the common fan.

The TSN 1200 radio post-game show Sunday night was flooded with calls and e-mails from places as far away was New Zealand, Australia and Turks and Caicos. Sports fans around the world felt connected and bonded to an Ottawa Senators goalie during an otherwise meaningless October game in Edmonton.

For a few hours, we didn’t look at Anderson as a goalie making $4.7 million. Instead, he was unmasked as a caring husband and father who is trying to work through a family crisis.

It’s always inspiring when we see that athletes need sports for more than just the paycheque.