Feb 9, 2018
Despite Vezina buzz, Andersen stays focused
Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen, who leads the NHL in starts (46) and saves (1,430) in 2017-18 and has seen his save percentage surge to .922, says he and his teammates "have a lot of work” to do during the next 26 games of the regular season and beyond, so any Vezina Trophy race talk must wait, TSN Toronto Reporter Mark Masters writes.
By Mark Masters
TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Leafs practiced at the MasterCard Centre on Friday.
Frederik Andersen’s dark horse bid for a Vezina Trophy nomination got a big boost on Wednesday when he outduelled Pekka Rinne, stopping 44 shots in regulation and overtime before adding another six saves in the shootout.
“His numbers kind of speak for themselves,” said Tyler Bozak. “You watch the game against Nashville and you can just show them that tape and that should put him in the conversation right there.”
Andersen leads the NHL in starts (46) and saves (1,430) this season. And, after a sluggish October, his save percentage has surged to .922, tied for fifth among those with at least 30 starts. That puts Andersen behind only Andrei Vasilevskiy (.929), Rinne (.926), Tuukka Rask (.925) and Connor Hellebuyck (.924).
In the past, Andersen has said winning the top prize for goalies is a personal goal. So, how much pride does he take in getting into the Vezina conversation these days?
“Nothing right now,” he said flatly. “There’s a lot of work to do. We have more important things to do. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
That answer has to be music to the ears of Mike Babcock, who has worked with a number of elite goalies over the years.
“The big thing about good goaltending is usually you play for good teams,” the Leafs head coach noted, “and then the next thing I’d say is they find a way to bring it every day in practice and in games. And when things are going good for them they don’t relax or get comfortable, they just try to keep getting better.”
Andersen looks far from satisfied these days. He barely reacted at all after making the clinching save in the shootout on Wednesday.
“That’s just how his personality is,” said Auston Matthews, who has become close with Andersen off the ice. “He’s pretty laid back and calm. He’s been really good for us on this stretch, especially when the momentum’s not really on our side and we’re hemmed in our zone and they’re getting opportunities, he’s been able to stand tall. When you got a guy like that it gives everybody else confidence."
The Leafs give up 33.9 shots per game, ranking near the bottom of the league in that category. What does good goaltending do for the team?
“You can play the game true,” Connor Carrick told LeafsTV on Friday. “When there’s doubt in the crease, it leaks into your team game. Maybe you’re (supposed to) play two-on-ones a certain way and you don’t because you’re nervous about the result behind you, so when the goalie’s able to play strong it really helps us, especially as defencemen, do our job with that much more faith in what we’re doing.”
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Andersen arrived at training camp feeling like he was in the best shape of his life. He changed up his diet in the summer and felt leaner, which he believed would help him stay strong throughout the season despite the heavy workload.
The 6-foot-4 Dane has also tweaked his approach to the shootout. Andersen had long struggled in the tiebreaker and last year ranked 29th in the NHL, stopping just 12 of 23 attempts (52 per cent). This year, he ranks seventh having stopped 21 of 27 (78 per cent). That number would be higher, but a Ryan Ellis shot went off the post and then off Andersen and into the net in Wednesday’s shootout. That was the only Nashville attempt to beat him.
The biggest difference, Andersen says, is he relies on his natural instincts now instead of the video pre-scout.
“I think sometimes those things can freeze you up, maybe you’re thinking too much and once you start thinking you’re going to stop and kind of be delayed in your movements and that can get you off your game a little bit,” he explained. “It goes for normal games, too. When you’re in a zone you don’t think as much, you just play and that’s been the approach.”
So, he doesn’t look at video of shootout moves anymore?
“In the shootout, no,” he said. “We tried that a little bit last year and it didn’t help me much. You start thinking about one thing he’s going to do and then he might do something else. Now, it's just having the confidence that you can stop it without knowing he might try to do this move. You just go with the flow and what he’s doing.”
Last year, Andersen went 1-7 in the shootouts and, at times, seemed overly frustrated by the result even though he had played well during regulation and overtime.
“It’s a letdown, obviously,” he admitted, “you play a good game and you don’t get two points and, at the end of the day, it’s more fun to win. That’s just how it is.”
Leafs finally solve the shootout
But it’s not just Andersen who has improved in the shootout. This year, the Leafs have converted on 10 of their 27 attempts (37 per cent) in winning five of six games that went the distance. Last year, they went just 5/28 (18 per cent) and lost eight of nine.
What’s changed?
“We’ve been scoring,” Matthews said bluntly, “that’s probably been the biggest difference this year.”
Matthews (3/6) and Bozak (3/4) lead Toronto in shootout goals while James van Riemsdyk (1/2), William Nylander (1/3), Patrick Marleau (1/5) and Mitch Marner (1/6) have all chipped in as well.
“Last year it didn’t go well for any of us, so it might’ve just been one of those years where things weren’t falling into place in that area,” said Bozak, “but, obviously, when you get a few you start feeling a little more confident in that situation.”
Last year was a blip for Bozak, who went 0/3. He has traditionally been very good in the shootout, converting on 40 per cent of his career chances (17/42). His preferred move is to come straight in with speed, slow down in the slot and pick a corner.
“I’ve always thought that doing a deke probably wasn’t the way to go,” he explained. “everyone’s different but, for me, when you deke you have a chance of losing the puck or something like that whereas if you come in with speed and try to push the goalie back and look for somewhere to shoot I think you have a few more options in that scenario.”
It seems simple, but Andersen said Bozak’s move is actually very hard to read.
“It’s that (he) can do more than one thing,” the goalie said. “You make it look like you’re coming down the same way every time so it’s tough, because he can shoot it different places. You’ll see him go around the net, shoot high glove, low glove, even low blocker, so you never know what he’s going to do either. He keeps his head up well and that helps him.”
The Leafs have just 55 shootout wins overall, ranking ahead of only the Flyers, Flames and Hurricanes (excluding the expansion Golden Knights). But with Andersen and Bozak in a groove, Toronto is 5-1 this season and likely to finish above .500 in the tiebreaker for just the second time in franchise history.
Matthews laments lost faceoffs
For the second time in three games, the Matthews line was dominated at even strength on Wednesday. Toronto’s top line struggled to handle Ryan Johansen, Roman Josi and the Predators.
After the game, Babcock said it came down to a battle of wills.
“They wouldn’t let them have the puck,” the coach noted. “When you go through and play these good teams or these good players, you get tired of these lessons. You’d like to have the puck more. You’ve got to decide. In the end, to me, the game is so simple. In the end, you’ve got to decide you’re going to dig in hard enough to have it, period. No different than two kids playing in the living room fighting over a ball. Usually one decides they’re going to have it.”
Babcock often cites faceoffs as an important 50-50 battle and in that department Toronto was dominated on Wednesday. Matthews (5-13) and linemate Nylander (2-8) went a combined 7-21.
“We weren’t good in the faceoff circle so we didn’t start with the puck and that’s a big thing,” Matthews said. “Their D are super active so when they win that faceoff in the offensive zone they’re able to move around and get active. They’re good at forcing guys to switch off their check and all six of their D can move well with the puck. But, the biggest thing is the faceoff circle. When we start with the puck it’s a lot easier for us.”
Matthews leads the Leafs in faceoff win percentage this season at 54.5 per cent while Nylander is at 50.5 per cent.
Lines at Friday’s practice:
Forwards
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Marner
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Brown
Komarov-Moore-Kapanen
Leivo, Martin
Defencemen
Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Carrick
Polak
Goaltenders
Andersen
McElhinney