It's official: Auld is Number One

As evident as it has been that Alex Auld is now the Senators' number one goaltender circumstantially, there is one sign that allows us to conclude for good and for all that he is the Senators' top 'tender: His presence in an advertisement.

The above ad was in the Ottawa Sun this morning. I'm not sure how long Auld has been fron-and-centre in the Sens' A Force United campaign, but he certainly wasn't at the start of the year. In fact, Martin Gerber was in a number of advertisements at the start of the year, but you won't see him around anytime soon (knock on wood).

I (apparently erroneously) gave Gerber the benefit of the doubt at the start of the year, but many people (including blog-mate Ben) correctly predicted that Auld would quickly surpass Darth Gerber as the starter. His numbers are as good as those of any Senator in recent history, with a GAA of 2.02 and a SP of .926 despite his record of 7-6-3. Auld is playing well enough for the team around him to win, which is all the Senators and Sens fans asked of a goaltender; now the skaters have to hold up their end of the bargain.