Andersen the calm behind Leafs’ storm
DETROIT— Frederik Andersen is the epitome of cool.
Stop an onslaught of shots, sit untested for minutes at a time, lose in a shootout, post back-to-back shutouts. It’s all the same calm, confident Andersen talking about it afterward.
“That’s just my personality,” said Andersen, who made 22 saves for his second shutout in a row, this a 4-0 decision over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night in the Joe Louis Arena.
“Freddie was unbelievable,” said Leafs centre Auston Matthews, who opened the scoring in the first period. “There were times we didn’t really help him out and he came up really big for us.
“He’s been a great back wall for us. We have a lot of confidence in him that no matter what team we’re going up against. Teams will get their chances, but he’ll come up big.”
Matthews was as good as advertised, thrilling a Leaf-centric crowd that took an hour or so to cross the border at Windsor. Back-checking and forechecking, Matthews has proven a force worthy of his all-star appearance this weekend in Los Angeles.
But even better might have been Andersen, whose unflappable play in net exudes a calm confidence that seems to have spread to the players in front of him. They made a number of mistakes, especially in their own zone in the second period.
Andersen held the fort but didn’t take the credit.
“It was a good team effort and, when you play like this, the puck bounces your way,” he said.
“You have these stretches where you play good and you don’t let anything in and it’s fun for the whole team.”
Andersen is the first Leaf goalie to post back-to-back shutouts since Ben Scrivens (Feb. 16-18, 2013, against Ottawa and Florida).
“We didn’t give up too much in the first half of the game, and we were able to capitalize on our chances,” said Andersen.
James van Riemsdyk, Roman Polak, who was playing his 600th game, and Nikita Soshnikov also scored for Toronto. Andersen picked up an assist on Soshnikov’s goal.
“Soshnikov was wide open,” Andersen said. “Just tried to bank it off the wall and he didn’t hesitate to shoot and it went in.”
“You always try to help your defencemen and make sure they don’t have to take too many hits when the come down to get the puck.”
The win meant the Maple Leafs, who came into the game in the second wild-card spot, moved back into third place ahead of the Boston Bruins in the game of playoff-spot leapfrog in the tight Atlantic Division.
“These are more than two-point games for us now,” said Matthews. “We want to stay in a playoff position and continue to get better each day.”
The Leafs have one more game before the all-star break, in Philadelphia on Thursday. The road trip picks up after the weekend with games in Dallas, St. Louis, Boston and Brooklyn.
The Leafs have been strong on the road lately. They are 9-0-2 in their last 11 road games, a franchise record for points in consecutive away games. Babcock was asked what they were doing differently.
“Taking care of the puck, stopping in the right spots, better goaltending,” said the Leafs coach. “You add it all up and it gives us a better chance.”
Special teams have also been a blessing away from the Air Canada Centre. The Leafs have the NHL’s top power play and penalty-killing when playing on the road this season. Matthews said the team has confidence on the road.
“We’re growing as a team. We’re maturing,” he said. “We’re a young group. Since the beginning oft he season we’ve come a long way. We have a long way to go.”
It was a hard game for the injurydecimated Red Wings, playing their fifth in eight nights and the second of a back-to-back that started Tuesday with an overtime loss in Boston.
The Leafs, meanwhile, were rested and in Detroit while the Wings were blowing a third-period to the Bruins.
“We had the upper hand, we had the good schedule,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. “I was sitting, eating pizza, watching them play on the road. By the time I got to the hotel and crawled into bed, it was the third period. We’ve had a lot of those backto-backs, and you want to take advantage as best as you can.”