STOP AND GO
Goalie Frederik Andersen might be the key figure in the Maple Leafs’ run at a playoff spot,
If goaltender Frederik Andersen is in the crease Saturday when the Leafs face the Carolina Hurricanes, he will be making his 55th start of the season, a career high.
Andersen was expected to get the bulk of the work when the Leafs traded for him in the off-season. He was expected to do what Curtis Joseph and Ed Belfour did a decade or more ago, when they regularly backstopped Leaf teams into the playoffs. But the 27-year-old Andersen is on pace for at least 68 starts, and possibly 70, with each start from here on in putting the Danish goalie in uncharted waters.
For Andersen, there’s no sense in worrying. “Numbers are not some- thing I care about too much,” he said as the Leafs wrapped up practice Friday and headed out on a three-game road trip, which starts Saturday in Carolina.
“Given the number of games I’ve played in, my body feels good, I have been able to take care of my body, and I feel good about playing a lot of games. That’s a positive thing for me . . . doing a good job with my body and managing it so that I can play these games.”
Leafs coach Mike Babcock, whose Detroit teams made the playoffs in all 10 seasons he was behind the bench, understands the impact a goalie has. He can cover up his teammates’ mistakes and help them find ways to be playoff-worthy.
“When we signed him, we felt he was the best goalie on the market and had a lot of upside,” Babcock said Friday. “He fits in our age group here, and he’s getting better all the time.
“Look, teams without goaltending don’t win, period. Soon, you blame forwards and defencemen for things you wouldn’t if you had good goaltending. I think Freddie’s done a good job for us.”
Andersen has helped put the Leafs in a position to either take the second wild-card spot in the East or catch Boston for third place in the Atlantic Division. And he will set career highs for saves and shots faced. He’s faced 1,722 shots (putting him on pace for 2,000) and made 1,578 saves, both of which are ranked second in the NHL.
Andersen is not in the top 15 in goals-against average (2.71) or save percentage (.916) but, according to advanced metrics, he’s among the most valuable goalies in the league. His “goalie point shares” — the estimate of points contributed by a goalie — currently sits at 10.8, fourthhighest among NHL goalies.
And while the Leafs remain shaky in their defensive zone positioning when under pressure, Andersen feels the team is getting better in all areas as the post-season approaches.
“As a player or a goalie, you want to have that, being the guy who’s first, working hard . . . it challenges the other guys to work hard too,” Andersen said. “It’s fun to be around each other when guys are doing well and working hard. Other guys watch that and get excited about it too. I think that’s how a team progresses and gets better, they compete with each other.
“There’s a lot more work to do in what we want to achieve, but we’re excited about the direction we’re going and things we’re getting better at.”