Feb 3, 2020
Maple Leafs await update on Andersen
Maple Leafs starter Frederik Andersen left Monday’s critical divisional game against the Panthers with an upper-body injury and while coach Sheldon Keefe remains optimistic about his No. 1 goalie’s status, he doesn’t know whether Andersen will travel with the team for their game Wednesday against the New York Rangers, Kristen Shilton writes.
TORONTO – The Maple Leafs lost starting goaltender Frederik Andersen to an upper-body injury after the first period of Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers, but head coach Sheldon Keefe relayed optimistic news afterwards about the netminder’s status.
“He's feeling better, from what I'm told,” Keefe said. “They're just going to have to give him the night and see how he is in the morning. He went through that whole [concussion protocol] process. My understanding is the results were positive on that, but given the nature of the injury, [the medical staff wanted] to take caution. We'll give him tonight and see how he is in the morning."
Keefe didn't know which play specifically Andersen was hurt on, but the most violent of bumps he took in the period was towards the end, when Panthers forward Frank Vatrano bulldozed into the net and forced Andersen to land awkwardly on his neck and shoulders.
Andersen stayed down briefly on the ice but was able to get up and finish out the frame, during which time he made eight saves.
Before the second period began though, the Leafs announced backup goalie Michael Hutchinson would be taking over the cage, and revealed soon after Andersen wouldn’t return.
Keefe said at this stage he doesn’t know whether Andersen will travel with the Leafs for their game against the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
“We'll see how he is in the morning and if he's on the ice for practice and all that kind of stuff," Keefe said. "Practice hasn't been ruled out for tomorrow at this point."
The 30-year-old Andersen has been the Leafs’ workhorse in net once again this season, starting 42 of their 53 games and posting a 24-9-6 record with .910 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average.
With Andersen’s availability now suddenly in question, Keefe was non-committal about his level of confidence in Hutchinson starting a string of games, saying, “I’m not going to answer that tonight.”
Given how Hutchinson played in relief of Andersen, Keefe’s hesitation in providing a ringing endorsement of his backup could also be understood.
Hutchinson was told early in the first intermission he’d be taking over for Andersen, but Toronto played so well in the second period he barely saw any action. At the end of those 20 minutes, the Leafs had built a 2-1 lead off goals by John Tavares and William Nylander, and Hutchinson had turned aside the only three shots he faced.
It was in the third period that the Leafs and Hutchinson really faltered. After Auston Matthews extended his team’s lead to 3-1 just 38 seconds in, Toronto temporarily lost some of its composure and couldn’t recover as Hutchinson allowed three goals on 10 shots.
The veteran would finish the night with 10 saves and a .769 save percentage.
“Obviously it didn't go very well,” Keefe said of Hutchinson’s performance. “But it's a challenging scenario. He comes in cold when he's not expected to play and goes into the second period [where] I don't know that he [faced] any [good] shots. That's a tough ask of any goalie. I'd take a lot more from games he's played previously for us than tonight.”
Hutchinson conceded as well it was “definitely difficult” coming in cold for Andersen, but insisted he’d be ready to take over as Toronto’s starter if necessary. Since Dec. 21, Hutchinson is a perfect 4-0 in games he’s started for the Leafs, but 0-3 when he’s come in to relieve Andersen, giving up 10 goals combined in those outings.
“It's the same [mindset] as it has been, just take it one day at a time,” Hutchinson said of potentially increasing his workload. “It doesn't matter if you're playing every single night or you're playing once every two weeks, you have to approach each day and try and get better and try and take advantage of each day and if I happen to get more starts than that, that's the way it is. But hopefully Freddie is good.”
That sentiment echoed throughout the Leafs’ room, along with the disappointment over not helping out Hutchinson more in achieving a better outcome.
“You still got to play,” Matthews said of seeing Andersen get hurt. “He's a big part of this team, obviously. But he goes down, and obviously we got faith in Hutchinson. We just didn't play well in front of him in the last 10-to-15 minutes.”
“Freddie is a big part of our team, he's been huge for us all year,” added Tavares. “But Hutch is very capable and has played great for us. We have to do a better job in front of him, especially for the shifts there that lead to their opportunities and their goals in the third. Injuries happen and we have to find a way to get the results.”
Although the Leafs remain tied with Florida at 63 points, the Panthers hold two games in hand on their Atlantic Division rivals and so Toronto has fallen out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture once again. And while Keefe liked much of what he saw from the Leafs on Monday, their chances of getting back in the playoff hunt could hinge on how quickly Andersen returns.
“If we play that type of game 100 times, we’d probably win 99 of them,” Keefe said. “But you don’t get the points, and that hurts. A lot of the narrative [around our team] is how we can’t defend. That was the best defensive game we’ve played the entire season. The result sucks.”