National Post (National Edition)
Freddie more than just steady for Leafs
Goalie has been key in keeping Bruins at bay
Frederik Andersen was peeling off his goalie equipment after practice on Tuesday when the player who was credited for making the two biggest saves in Game 3 emerged from the back of the dressing room. Just like that, a crowd of reporters and cameramen started to rush toward Mitch Marner, even if it meant accidentally trampling all over Andersen’s equipment to get there.
“Geez, please watch it,” said Andersen, pulling his gear out of harm’s way.
So much for protecting the goalie. Or, for that matter, recognizing who has equally been the star for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of these playoffs.
Sure, Marner’s two blocks in the final seconds of Game 3 may have been the highlights of Toronto’s 3-2 win against Boston on Monday night. But even if they got through, chances are Andersen would have stopped them.
After all, he’s stopped
pretty much every other shot so far in this series.
Three games into the playoffs, the Leafs goalie has a 2.34 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. Only the Islanders’ Robin Lehner and the Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky have kept the puck out of their net more than Andersen, who has allowed seven goals (six, if you don’t include the one that William Nylander practically scored in his own net).
That’s important in a series in which Boston’s Tuukka Rask has a 2.37 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
And yet, the story of Game 3 wasn’t the paddle save that Andersen made on David Pastrnak midway through the first. Nor was it the diving stop Andersen made with the knob of his stick on a David Krejci deke with just three minutes remaining in the third period. Instead, it was the sacrifice that Marner made by putting his body in harm’s way.
Of course, this is how it goes for goaltenders in the playoffs. You tend to only notice their play when they’re either standing on their heads or falling flat on their face.
Andersen has done neither.
In three games, he hasn’t single-handedly won a game for the Leafs in the way that Marner has. But he also hasn’t cost the team a game in the way that Nazem Kadri might have. Instead, he’s been consistently steady, something that is sometimes taken for granted on a team that has so much skill up front.
“Underrated?” asked Morgan Rielly. “Maybe from you guys. But for us, he’s one of the most important people that we’ve got. I don’t think it goes unnoticed. He’s a voice for our team and he’s a big part of what we’re doing. I don’t think he’s underrated or underappreciated.”
That may be so. But after losing seven of his final 10 games of the regular season, there were question marks concerning Andersen’s play. No one could be sure what version of Andersen the Leafs would see in the playoffs: the one that posted a .922 save percentage in the first five months of the season or the one that had an .898 mark in March and the first week of April.
So far, it’s been the former. At this time a year ago, Andersen’s play was spotty at best. He allowed five goals in a Game 1 loss to the Bruins, was pulled in Game 2 and imploded by giving up six goals on 35 shots in Game 7.
This year, he’s not just making the hard saves look easy. He’s giving his team a chance to compete by not allowing any soft shots to find the back of the net. That’s not a small feat when you consider the Leafs are allowing 38.3 shots per game — up from 33.1 in the regular season and the second most in the playoffs.
“All good teams, when they go deep into the playoffs it always starts with just a rock in the net,” said defenceman Jake Muzzin. “That’s what Freddie has given us in all three games. He’s our No. 1 player.”
There’s no telling when a goalie will go on a hot streak or hit a cold spell in the playoffs.
Tampa Bay was in a position to get swept on Tuesday night in large part because Vezina Trophy favourite Andrei Vasilevskiy had given up 11 goals in three games and had posted an .866 save percentage. In Calgary, Mike Smith allowed six goals on 56 shots in Game 3 to put the Flames down 2-1 to the Avalanche. Even Winnipeg would be breathing easier had Connor Hellebuyck raised his save percentage above the .900 mark.
“I think having a goalie that’s ‘on’ in the playoffs is inevitably something you need,” said defenceman Travis Dermott. “We know he’s going to save a few per game that the average goalie wouldn’t. He definitely makes that difference.”
A couple of weeks ago, Andersen wasn’t making the difference. He wasn’t making the hard saves or the easy saves for that matter. He looked gassed. He looked like he lacked confidence. But sometime between the end of Game 82, in which he allowed five goals in a 6-5 overtime shootout loss to the Canadiens, and Game 1 of the playoffs, he flipped a switch.
“We realize what ’s at stake now,” said Andersen. “T here’s no momentum game to game. You move on and get ready for the next one.”
To that end, when Mike Babcock was asked to comment on Andersen’s play so far, the Leafs head coach paused.
“Well, I mean we’re three games in.”
In other words, as good as he’s been, there’s still a long way to go.