TORONTO – On a night Auston Matthews will always remember, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen had a start he'd sooner forget.

While Matthews was making history by scoring four goals in his NHL debut, Andersen allowed five goals on 30 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. While he wasn’t to blame for all five goals, Andersen’s performance did little to quell concerns about his play that emerged during a shaky preseason.

“[I have to] trust myself a little bit more,” Andersen said Thursday after practice. “I’ve been second-guessing myself in some of these situations and I think it’s something you have to get back. You have to get your confidence back.”

Andersen suffered a shoulder injury during an Olympic qualifier that prevented him from playing in the World Cup of Hockey. He returned in time to play in two complete exhibition games, making 26 of 32 saves in a 6-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens and 19 of 23 saves in a 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. He also played two periods against the Senators in Saskatchewan, making 13 of 14 stops.

Those are not the kind of numbers Toronto was looking for when they traded for Andersen in June, then immediately signed him to a five-year, $25-million extension.

“Right now he’s not on top of his game, [but] we have no questions about what his abilities are and what he will be,” general manager Lou Lamoriello said Thursday. “He has not played the way he would like to play but we have to have patience there.”

Andersen has never played with a team as young and inexperienced as Toronto, and that’s undoubtedly contributed to his struggles. In two and a half seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, Andersen played behind an established, veteran core. In Toronto he needs to cover all manner of sins that develop in front of him as the new-look Maple Leafs continue to take shape.

“Just getting to a new team in general is a challenge. I’m working hard on getting acclimated with the guys and learning how they play certain situations,” Andersen said. “We want to make sure we can rely on each other in every situation. [Playing] becomes easier for all of us. Hopefully that gets better quickly.”

Andersen did make a few key saves against the Sens, particularly near the end of the third period to preserve the tie for the Maple Leafs and help earn them a point.

“I hoped for a better result [but] felt okay most of the time,” Andersen said. “Some of the goals I didn’t make the right save decision. It’s tough, but in 3-on-3 there’s going to be open chances, often pretty quick. We can build on this. I saw a lot of good things from other players and I expect more of myself.”

Toronto’s front office does too. And not just from Andersen. On a night when Matthews, Mitch Marner, Zach Hyman and William Nylander were by far the stars, a number of the team's more experienced players were largely nonexistent.

“We have a lot of veterans that could be a lot better,” head coach Mike Babcock said. “We have to keep the puck out of our net better. We made too many mistakes. It’s nice to see how good our kids can be. The guys that are supposed to lead the way gotta be better.”