When the fight was finally over, Craig Anderson fell forward to both knees, both arms in exasperation, and lowered his head.
And then, he got back up on one knee, and the chin was right back up.
The man knows something about a fight, but he clearly also doesn't know about giving up.
That, of course, is because he's been by the side of his wife, Nicholle, through her treatment for a rare form of cancer, a battle that's captured the attention of the hockey world well beyond Canada and its capital. He had to leave the Senators for two months to spend time with Nicholle and family and, by the time he returned, in what couldn't have been a coincidence, he'd visibly found more determination than ever.
It's probably safe to say he never showed that side more than in this Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final, when his 39 saves weren't enough to keep the Penguins from prevailing, 3-2, in double-overtime.
Just listen to Sidney Crosby when I asked about Anderson or, better yet, watch his expressions:
It was noticed at the far end, too.
"Yeah, he was unbelievable," Matt Murray said. "I definitely knew it was going to be tough to get any by him."
"Craig and the entire team, I think, have displayed a lot of courage, a lot of resilience, and a lot of caring," Ottawa coach Guy Boucher would say on the other side. "That's what makes this so tough. There's a lot of caring."
Boucher singled out Anderson reluctantly, adamant that he'd only discuss the group because of how it came together after missing the playoffs last season, learning his 1-3-1 trap system and surprisingly knocking out the Bruins and Rangers before pushing the defending champions to the limit ... well, beyond the limit if one counts the two extra periods.
And yet, there can't be any question Anderson was the architect. He was pulled not once but twice in the Penguins' 7-0 blowout in Game 5, then bounced back with 45 saves in a brilliant Game 6 and somehow elevated above that in this one. Sure, there was some luck, such as an off-balance stumble as Brian Dumoulin shot right into him in the first overtime, but there also was stoning Bryan Rust on a partial break, and doing likewise to Phil Kessel and others who had point-blank attempts only to skate away shaking their heads.
"It's hard," Anderson said, his eyes appearing to moisten. "Really hard."
Asked how he'd remember the season, he answered: ""Love. Just the love that this team had, from the start. The guys in here, right from the day I left the team and came back, you couldn’t ask for a better group of teammates. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
The general theme in the visitors' room, beyond the obvious disappointment, was one of pride.
“At the end of the day, we lost to a better team,” Erik Karlsson said. “We did everything in our power, and it could have gone either way. They did it for a little bit longer than we did and a little bit better. We played the best team in the league and we gave them a good match. We’re very disappointed in the loss and getting so close, and it’s going to be an experience we’re going to have to learn from.”
"We didn't want it to end," Bobby Ryan said. "But they came up one shot better."
It might feel like justice that Anderson had no chance to stop that one shot, as he was screened by teammate Jean-Gabriel Pageau on Chris Kunitz's winning knuckler.
He described being in a state of shock all the way through the handshake line.
“It’s surreal,” Anderson said. “It doesn’t feel like it’s happening, but it is. We played our hearts out, gave it everything we had. We laid it all out there. I thought it was meant to be. I thought it was our time. You need a little bit of luck on your side. It just didn’t fall for us.”
Shortly after the game, Anderson's wife put the following on Twitter:
A year you would think I would want to forget, but I couldn't be prouder of our team! Great year and memories that will last a lifetime!
— Nicholle Anderson (@xonichollexo) May 26, 2017
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