At times, the (Hamburglar) days must seem like a dream to Andrew Hammond.
Or a role he played in a sports movie.
It was real, though, as real as the sleet pelting the Canadian Tire Centre at game time.
For that brief period of time, a two-month stretch from mid-February of 2015 until mid-April, Hammond was the hottest goaltender in the NHL and hands-down its best story. Undrafted and unloved (hockey-wise) out of Bowling Green State, Hammond came north from AHL Binghamton where he was playing just so-so. Thrust into an emergency starters role with Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner injured, this soft-spoken puck stopper became the (Hamburglar) (an old college nickname) while putting up a 20-1-2 record, 1.