Andersen stirred but not shaken
Leafs goaltender keeps focus on the next game after giving up half-dozen goals to Devils
Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen had already put the Leafs’ first loss of the season behind him, minutes after it occurred, and was looking ahead to his team’s next game.
“It doesn’t matter what happened before, it’s a new game,” Andersen said of facing the Canadiens, who have beaten Toronto in their last 14 meetings. “We want to win and be prepared, and play well . . .”
The Leafs weren’t at their best in a 6-3 loss to New Jersey on Wednesday, despite putting 50 shots at the Devils net. There were missed assignments, defensive breakdowns and six occasions when the puck got behind Andersen.
Leafs coach Mike Babcock complained about his team’s effort, but Andersen’s night didn’t go unnoticed. That’s the life of a goalie: you have to be the best player on the ice when your team is making costly mistakes.
Andersen is soft-spoken after Toronto losses; he takes them as hard as anyone on the team. The key is managing his confidence and keeping a proper perspective. That means taking the lessons from Wednesday’s loss and moving on.
“We have some mistakes we need to clean up, and we should be ready to go (Saturday in Montreal),” Andersen said. “Just some missed assignments.”
The worst might have come when defenceman Jake Gardiner was caught out of position on a 5-on-3 power play and Devils penalty killer Brian Gibbons beat Andersen to give New Jersey a two-goal lead.
“Of course, that’s when you have to score,” Anderson said of the two-man advantage. “They worked hard and they got the goal, it was a tough swing.”
The Leafs remarked afterward on their 50-shot performance, which should have been more than enough to produce a win. But the bounces didn’t go their way, they said.
Babcock was more focused on their effort. While the Leafs never take a night off, they periodically allow the opposition costly levels of access to their zone — and they’ll be reminded of that in practice Friday.
Andersen, for his part, is unlikely to have his confidence shaken.
Ayear ago, after signing a five-year, $25million contract to be the No. 1 goalie in Toronto, he lost five of his first seven games.
He had been slowed by an injury in an Olympic qualifying tournament that forced him to miss much of training camp, and it took the next two months to quash the ripple effects of his slow start.
Andersen, though, did quash it; he registered 33 wins by the end of the season, four shy of the single-season team record and was a key in bringing the club back to the playoffs.
He and the Leafs are 3-1to start this season, but the goaltender’s numbers have been anything but stellar: a 3.97 goals-against average, an .871 save percentage, and a goals saved above average mark of -4.92. That last number measures the goals prevented given a goalie’s save percentage and shots faced versus the league average.
Andersen was exceptional last year
“We have some mistakes we need to clean up, and we should be ready to go.” FREDERIK ANDERSEN AFTER THE LEAFS’ FIRST LOSS
at 8.58.
Still, the Leafs are just four games into an 82-game schedule and Andersen is not about to read too much into the numbers. He’s still the go-to goaltender on a team that believes it can play, and score, with the league’s elite.
And Wednesday, they believe, was a blip.
“I think we know we get good opportunities up front,” Andersen said. “That comes with playing disciplined and patient in our zone . . . (if we) stick to our assignments, the chances will come.”