OVERTIME PAY
Frederik Andersen will work out by himself on New Year’s Day as he tries to recover from injury. The Leafs won’t rush him.
Of all the angles the Maple Leafs are considering when it comes to workhorse goalie Frederik Andersen and the groin injury that has kept him out of the lineup of late, one stands out: There’s no rush.
Coach Mike Babcock stressed on Monday that there is “no plan” for Andersen’s return to game action. He’ll work out with goalie coach Steve Briere on Tuesday, while the rest of the team has the day off. If all goes well, he might be cleared to return to full practice on Wednesday.
Andersen, who has played more minutes than any other NHL goalie the past two seasons, could be in the lineup on Thursday, when the Leafs host the Minnesota Wild in a rare afternoon start. Or they might wait until Saturday’s home date with the Vancouver Canucks.
If they wait even longer, it would mark Andersen’s longest break between games as a Leaf.
“He’ll practise (on his own Tuesday), and we’ll see how it goes,” Babcock said. “Let’s make it clear, there’s no plan.”
After five wins in their last six games, the Leafs can afford to play it cautiously with one of the keys to their success.
In Andersen’s absence, Garret Sparks has filled the starter’s role and he seems likely to make his third in a row against the Wild. The Marlies’ Kasimir Kaskisuo — sent back to the AHL club for Monday’s game — has been handling Leaf backup duties, while York Lions goalie Alex Fontino filled in at Monday’s practice.
Andersen stretched and did some basic drills prior to Monday’s workout. The important thing for the Leafs, though, is to have him healthy down the stretch. Nearing mid-season, the checking and intensity has already started to increase, around the net in particular. After Friday night’s game in Columbus — a 4-2 Toronto win — Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno told reporters that the Leafs are vulnerable when checked hard behind the net and “don’t like” when they are pressured down low.
Regardless of what opponents say, the Leafs have been scruti- nized this season when it comes to physical play and effectiveness in their own zone, and often rely on Andersen to keep them in games when the opposition has extended puck control in the Toronto end.
But there’s a need for balance at this point in the season when it comes to Andersen’s health, late in an all-star-worthy first half. Babcock realizes that. “We went 5-0-1 and we’ve had three five-game winning streaks this season,” said the coach, with his club sitting second behind the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference standings. “What we talked about … is where we’re at and moving forward. “We had a good 2018, we won a lot of games and we’re in a spot now where we expect more, and we want more.”