Andersen standing tall in Leafs’ net
Goaltender ranks with NHL’s elite as he notches .929 save percentage in 13 games
The Maple Leafs are getting their money’s worth out of Frederik Andersen.
Of the 22 goaltenders in the National Hockey League this season who had played in at least 10 games through Tuesday, only three — Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (.935), John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks (.933) and Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild (.930) — had a better save percentage than the mark of .929 that Andersen has provided in 13 games for Toronto.
After 2018-19, Andersen will have two years remaining on a contract that carries an annual salary cap hit of US$5 million. This season, no less than 16 goalies in the NHL are costing their teams more money against the cap.
Andersen was the reason the Leafs beat the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena, a victory that included Andersen turning aside all eight shots he faced in the third period.
Not a great workload to be sure, but it was a continuation of the kind of netminding Andersen has been providing in the final 20 minutes in each of his games. Andersen has posted a .936 save percentage in the third period, stopping 131 of 140 shots on goal. With the Leafs’ offensive skills in abundance — though tested with Auston Matthews nursing a shoulder injury and restricted free agent William Nylander digging in his heels — Andersen doesn’t necessarily have to be terrific every night. Often, though, Andersen has been that and, to the tune of $5 million, he has been a bargain.
ALL IN ON BROWN
When Connor Brown scored in the first period against Vegas, his first goal after going 10 games without one, the relief was clear in his celebration.
The Leafs who were watching from the bench were pretty pumped when Brown scored. The goal came as a result of Brown taking the puck from Golden Knights defenceman Nick Holden before turning quickly and beating goalie MarcAndre Fleury with a shot on the glove side.
“Yeah, that was great,” winger Mitch Marner said. “That guy is a workhorse. He gets in on the forecheck every single time, he makes a lot of turnovers, he is always tracking back and making it hard on the other team.
“I was super happy for him when he got that goal. He has had so many chances, (they) just have not bounced his way. That was a pretty impressive shot to get flatfooted in front of your body and get it up that quick. I think it takes a lot of pressure off his back.” Brown’s only other goal this season so far came into an empty net against Dallas on Oct. 9. As much as Brown’s work ethic does not waver, there’s a hill for the 24-year-old winger to climb after he scored 20 goals in 82 games as a rookie two years ago. Brown played in 82 games again last season, scoring 14 goals. Brown wants contribute offence consistently, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to find himself dwelling on it. “We have been talking about (secondary scoring) recently. Our big guys have been scoring, but it’s important for us to take a bit of load off their back.”
Perhaps it was not the way Babcock planned it, but with the Leafs holding on to a onegoal lead late against Vegas, defenceman Ron Hainsey had a shift that lasted one minute 56 seconds, ending two seconds before Nazem Kadri scored into an empty net. “It probably just turned out that way, (Hainsey) couldn’t get off the ice,” Babcock said. “Ron knows where to stand when the game is on the line so having a little knowledge and being a veteran and standing in the right spot never hurt anybody.” … Patrick Marleau’s assist on the goal by Kadri put him at 599 in his NHL career. That ties Marleau with Alex Kovalev for 88th on the NHL list … The Leafs, who did not practise on Wednesday, loaned forward Trevor Moore back to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. With the Leafs starting a four-game trip on Saturday in Boston, expect Moore, if not a different forward, to be recalled.