It’s early, but about the goalies

Andersen and Enroth have done little so far to repair hole in net

CHICAGO— If you read between the lines of Mike Babcock’s early-season assessment of his youth-laden Maple Leafs team, it’s not difficult to detect where the coach’s dissatisfaction lies.

“I think we’ve played pretty well, to be honest with you. I like the way we play. I like how quick we play,” Babcock was saying after Thursday’s 3-2 loss in Minnesota. “I like our back end. I like the depth we have up front. We’ve got to keep the puck out a little better.”

Think about it. If he’s happy with his defencemen and figures his forward lines are brimming with talent, and if his chief point of emphasis is the need to “keep the puck out” — well, that sounds an awful lot like Babcock asking for better goaltending without openly criticizing his goaltenders. He’s got a point, both in his implication that the puckstopping needs to get better and in his restraint in making public demands that it must.

The Maple Leafs, after all, head into Saturday’s game against the Blackhawks with a team save percentage of .879. Last year the league average in that stat was .915. That leaves a lot of room for Toronto-based improvement.

That’s mostly because Frederik Andersen, acquired in the off-season and signed to a five-year deal worth $25 million to be Toronto’s starter of the present and future, has yet to find his form. In three starts, he’s only had one that’s left him marginally satisfied — a 4-1 win over Boston in Saturday’s home opener. Otherwise, he’s been searching his crease for something he has yet to stumble across.

“That’s one thing I’ve been lacking a little bit — the confidence of being in net and trusting myself and the saves I’m going to make,” he was saying earlier this week. “If you look at the pre-season games and the first game (in Ottawa), a couple of times I’m in between save selections. The most important thing is to commit to one thing.

“That’s something that comes with the confidence and having that feeling, like a (bleep)-you mentality.”

Andersen smiled and apologized for using the F-word — he was using the profanity only for emphasis — and continued to explain.

“Sorry about my words, but it’s like a mentality, ‘Nothing’s going to go by me,’ ” Andersen said. “I know how it feels. Once I get back to that, I’ll know for sure. I can tell it’s

“We’ve got to find a way to keep the puck out of our net.” LEAFS COACH MIKE BABCOCK

coming.”

The Maple Leafs aren’t the only team suffering with sub-optimal netminding. Heading into Friday’s games, NHL goaltenders had a collective .902 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average, both well off last year’s average marks. Leafs backup Jhonas Enroth hardly gave those numbers a boost making his Leafs debut against the Wild. His 24 saves on 27 shots gave him an .889 save percentage for the outing. It seemed to leave Babcock wanting.

“I thought he played pretty good,” Babcock said of Enroth. “But in the end, we gave up two goals in the third. So it’s one of those things — we’ve got to find a way to keep the puck out of our net.”

Certainly there’s plenty of time for improvement. And it’s worth remembering that Andersen missed training camp and the World Cup of Hockey thanks to an injury suffered while playing for Denmark in a Sept. 2 Olympic qualifying match against Slovenia. Beyond citing the missed time, some have speculated that Andersen’s struggles have to do with adapting to a new system in Toronto. On Thursday, Babcock scoffed at the notion.

“I don’t think that has anything to do with it,” Babcock said. “I just think it’s pretty apparent where he’s giving up goals and he’ll just work on it.”

He will, or the coach’s criticism is liable to become more pointed.