Andersen up for anything
Home-and-home with Sabres chance to see if Keefe alters goalie use
Maple Leafs goaltender Frede- rik Andersen isn’t quite sure what to expect this weekend when the Leafs play games on consecutive nights under new head coach Sheldon Keefe. Will Andersen start the first game, as was almost always the case under Mike Babcock, with backup Michael Hutchinson playing the next night? Or will Keefe give his No. 1 goalie extra day of rest?
“Have to see, have to wait and see,” Andersen said after Leafs practice Tuesday. Hutchinson started five games earlier this season under Babcock, all on the back end of back-to-backs, and went 0-4-1, leading to his demotion to the AHL Marlies. Kasimir Kaskisuo took his turn playing the second game in Pittsburgh two Saturdays ago and lost 6-1 in what might have been the low point of the Toronto season. The Penguins were without stars Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang and the Leafs turned in one of their worst efforts under Babcock. Now Hutchinson has returned, the coach has changed, and another set of back-to-back games loom against Buffalo.
Anderson isn’t getting too far ahead of things.
“We won a couple of games and definitely it’s helped the mood,” Andersen said, referring to the 2-0 start under Keefe.
“Obviously, we had a little bit different day (at practice Monday with nine different coaches on the ice as the Leafs went through skills training).
“I don’t want to make any comparisons right now. I think it’s early, I think people are a little quick to compare things, and I don’t have any interest in doing that.”
Andersen has had a great deal of success playing the first of consecutive games, going 3011-2 while with the Leafs. But Keefe continues to keep his plans for Buffalo under wraps. Toronto’s struggles in the second games has certainly hurt its position in the standings. And it has put more pressure on everyone involved — Andersen, his backup, and the players in front of them.
“I’m not worried, I’m not thinking about the record at all, it's not important,” Andersen said. “The only thing we can do is get better and get on the same page here, that’s all that matters.”
Despite the Leafs’ repeated vows to get better on defence — and to try to control their No. 1 goaltender’s workload — Andersen entered Tuesday among the NHL leaders in shots against (604, third) and saves made (553, fourth). He led the league in shots against in 201617 and 2017-18.
Keefe will face a delicate balancing act in introducing changes to Andersen’s regimen. Andersen says he likes to work — he is 11-5-3 in his 19 starts, and is tied for second in the league with 12 quality starts — and has said an ideal workload would be about 60 games or less. He played in 60 games last season, after back-to-back seasons of 66 with the Leafs.