In 2016, the same year Frederik Andersen began his four-year stint in the Maple Leafs’ goal, the team drafted Joseph Woll. During their recent matchup, Woll made 41 saves, but Andersen, facing his former team and close friend NHL scoring leader Auston Matthews, held strong for the Hurricanes for most of the game until Nick Robertson scored midway through the third period.
Despite scoring three or more goals in their last six games, including a notable six-goal performance against Edmonton the night before, the Leafs struggled to find the back of the net against Andersen. They went 0-for-4 on the power play, including a 6-on-4 opportunity in the final moments of the game.
Although Andersen allowed a couple of goals, the Leafs were unable to capitalize on chances to tie the game until Robertson scored his 10th goal of the season, preventing Toronto from being shut out and extending their impressive streak of not being shut out in 214 games, which ranks as the eighth-longest in NHL history.
Andersen, who recently returned from a life-threatening blood-clotting condition that sidelined him for three months, has been on a hot streak, winning six consecutive games for the Hurricanes. Since the trade deadline, where Carolina finalized their playoff roster, Andersen has emerged as the team’s top goaltender. He previously held the fourth-most wins in Maple Leafs history before his departure as Toronto opted for a different direction that included the development of Joseph Woll.
During the recent game, Andersen made a season-high 41 saves, including stopping a penalty shot by Seth Jarvis. However, neither of the goals scored against him were his fault. Now, there’s uncertainty regarding Ilya Samsonov’s availability for Tuesday’s game against New Jersey after he left Saturday’s game following Edmonton’s third goal in the final period due to an undisclosed injury. Coach Sheldon Keefe mentioned that the injury wasn’t as severe as initially feared, but if there are any doubts about Samsonov’s status, Martin Jones is likely to start in goal against the Devils.
Carolina concluded their conference play against the Western teams with an impressive record of 24-6-2. On Sunday, they began the final stretch of 13 games against Eastern Conference opponents to finish off the regular season. The game against Toronto marked the third one-goal victory by Carolina over the Maple Leafs in this season’s series, which has now concluded. Unfortunately for Carolina, it was a missed opportunity to narrow the gap between themselves and Boston and Florida in the Atlantic Division standings.
