Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson taking leave after winning start

Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson is taking a leave of absence to attend to a personal matter, the team announced in a news release Thursday.

"With the support of the entire organization, we've provided Craig with a leave of absence so that he can attend to a personal matter at home," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is quoted as saying in the release.

"While we are uncertain of how long Craig may be away, he will continue to have our support for as much time as is needed. We will respect his privacy and will have no further comment at this time."

The Senators did not elaborate on Anderson's reason for taking a leave after one game of a three-game western road trip. Nor did the team explain why Anderson took a similar leave from training camp before the season began.

Was off to winning start

On Monday night the Senators beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-0, earning Anderson his first shutout of the season.

In terms of wins, Anderson is in a three-way tie for second place among NHL goalies at this early stage in the season with four wins out of five starts, including one shootout victory. Anderson has started all but one game this season.

His current goals-against average is 2.95, with a .902 save percentage.

The Senators have called up goalie Chris Driedger from the club's American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y., to replace Anderson.

Driedger, 22, has a 1-0-1 record with a 0.96 goals-against average and .961 save percentage in two games with the B-Sens this season.

He'll join goalie Andrew Hammond in the Sens' lineup Friday in Calgary.