While he was briefly absent from the Hurricanes courtesy of an injury in their Round 1 series against the New Jersey Devils, goaltender Frederik Andersen is proving that he’s worth every dollar he’ll be paid in the contract extension he just agreed to.
Andersen shut down the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series on Saturday night, stopping all 21 shots he faced and picking up the shutout.
The Hurricanes now lead the series two games to one, and can take a two-game series lead should they ultimately pull out a win in Game 4 on Monday night.
Hurricanes Goalie Frederik Andersen Was a Calming Presence In Net
Having a strong and steady last line of defense is always a great option for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, and the Hurricanes have their man with Andersen between the pipes.
“Clearly that was the key to our win tonight, was that first period where clearly they were on their game and we were a little on our heels,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour remarked. “That’s what goaltending does; it kept us in the game. And then I thought we got to it in the second half of the game, but it could have been a lot different if we were chasing it.”
“You’ve got to give it to Freddie; that might have been one of the better games he’s played for us, just with the actual magnitude of the game, what it means, and how that impacted it, the way he played.”
Andersen picked up his fourth career playoff shutout and became the 10th goalie in NHL playoff history to have a playoff shutout with three different clubs (Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Hurricanes).
But instead of taking the spotlight for himself, Andersen shared it with his teammates, to whom he credited the win.
“(My teammates) were great,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter what’s happened in the game before. You’re just trying to be ready for the next save. I can say that every time. It’s cliche, but I just try to be in the moment and make the save, and continue to keep the lead and let them do their thing. You don’t get to choose when you get a shot against as a goalie, you just have to try to be ready for it.”
Carolina’s goal scorers in the victory included Jack Roslovic, Evgeni Svechnikov, Eric Robinson, and Jackson Blake.
They’ll have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in Game 4 on Monday night.