Andersen hears chants as he turns back Predators
Leafs goalie shows no ill effects from taking skate to the head against Ducks
It sometimes takes Maple Leafs fans at the Air Canada Centre some convincing to get loud.
They didn’t need it Wednesday night the way Frederik Andersen played.
They were chanting “Fred-Dee, Fred-Dee” through a second period when Andersen was at his magical, goal-stealing best and again with a minute to go on a game-saving pad save on a Ryan Johansen wraparound attempt.
Andersen’s 44-save performance was a big reason why the Leafs beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 Wednesday night on James van Riemsdyk’s shootout winner. The goaltender stopped six of seven Predators in the shootout session, including Viktor Arvidsson to end the night.
“He was great,” van Riemsdyk said. “He made a ton of huge saves for us. It’s always nice to hear your name chanted by the fans like that. He played a great game for us and gave us a chance to win.”
Andersen certainly didn’t look any worse for wear after being forced from Monday’s game against Anaheim when he took a skate to the helmet.
“It was fun,” he said of hearing his name chanted. “We have great fans here. It means a lot when you have that support.”
Andersen was left on his own for long stretches after the Leafs took a 2-0 lead on goals from van Riemsdyk in the first period and Kasperi Kapanen, short-handed, in the second, They took their foot off the gas and the Predators pressed, getting a goal from Colton Sissons late in the second and the tying goal from Arvidsson early in the third.
“We did a good job until we turned the puck over and they got one,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “When you look at the 50-50 battles, they dominated. That’s a great team that competes at a high level. As the game went on, they got quicker and quicker and we watched them more and more.
“Freddie had to be good. Good for us, we got the points. But it shows we got a ways to go.”
Still, the Leafs are a remarkable 163-5 in one-goal games and 5-1 in the shootout.
“Those things add up,” van Riemsdyk said. “You need the big save, or the big goal to come out on the right side of those.
“It’s been huge to have a guy like him back there. He’s been a steadying influence for us.”
The Leafs have put together some solid outings lately, making it a little hard for critics to point out weaknesses and where exactly the holes are. But Babcock said he’s having conversations with GM Lou Lamoriello over just that.
“I want what I want,” the coach said. “It’s real simple, I make it very clear. That day (the Feb. 26 trade deadline) comes and then she’s all over with. The GM has to decide. We’re all going to get together and we’re going to discuss this many times and we’re all going to have our opinion. I like to have a whole bunch of opinions, too, and then we end up at the same one.
“I like to have good debate, heated debate, because I think that’s good too. In the end, you get what you get and then you’ve got to find a way to make them win.”
The Leafs have been winning lately, and Babcock welcomed the challenge of facing the Predators, calling it a kind of litmus test. Nashville is one of the elite teams in the Western Conference and a favourite to return to the Stanley Cup final.
“You have a team that’s high in the standings and a team that went very deep last year so you have a chance to see where you’re at, to see if you’re any good or not,” Babcock said. “We think we are, but you’ve got to show it on a nightly basis.”
The first period started much like a football game where neither team got to the red zone. Shots were 2-2 through the first 11minutes. The pace was good, but scoring chances were few and far between.
It took really until the 14-minute mark for a serious chance, when Nylander’s no-look pass went straight to Sissons, alone in front of the Leaf net.
Andersen made the save. Nylander thanked him.
“It was a huge save,” Nylander said. “I didn’t see the guy. So great save by Freddie.”
But that seemed to break the dam. The period ended with the Leafs up 1-0 thanks to van Riemsdyk’s 21st goal of the year. Kapanen scored shorthanded at 9:38 to open a 2-0 lead, showing some amazing speed and puck-protection ability.