WASHINGTON (AP) — Frederik Andersen had no choice but to sit and watch his Carolina Hurricanes teammates clinch their first-round series victory and move on in the NHL playoffs.
A week later, he was back in net and delivered the kind of quality goaltending they’ve gotten from him whenever he has been healthy. Andersen stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced as the Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 in overtime in Game 1 of their second-round series.
“Just really been looking forward to this for a while,” Andersen said. “Happy we could start off on the right foot.”
Andersen was Carolina’s starter to begin the postseason and turned aside 88 of 94 shots before getting injured when New Jersey forward Timo Meier barreled into him in the second period of Game 4 last round. He gave way to backup Pyotr Kotchekov, who finished the job that night and did enough to advance with an overtime victory in Game 5.
Extra time off allowed Andersen, a 35-year-old Dane in his 12th season in the league, to heal up. He was not tested much in the opener at Washington, but even the lack of action he had made it more challenging for a veteran coming off a long layoff.
“Well that’s tough — it seems easy,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He’s been here long enough (to know) you got to stay focused. And I thought he did a good job.”
The Hurricanes pummeled the Capitals with 94 shots attempts: 33 that got on net — two of which went in past Logan Thompson — and 36 that got blocked before reaching him. After Logan Stankoven tied it midway through the third period, Andersen took space away on Ryan Leonard’s breakaway with just under six minutes, a play that did not count as a save but contributed to sending the game to overtime.
“You could tell he was on it,” Brind’Amour said. “That was a huge one for us.”
Carolina has been used to playing without Andersen, who missed half of 2023-24 getting treatment for blood clots and was out for a few months this season after knee surgery. But the organization showed how important Andersen is, signing him between rounds to a contract for next season, one that could see him earn up to $3.5 million.
In his first game since getting that deal, Andersen rewarded the Hurricanes by making the saves he needed to make to give them a series led.
“He’s huge for us,” Stankoven said. “We’re trying at the other end to create offense, and when we do give up chances or there are breakdowns, he’s there for us. And he’s been great all playoffs for us, so we’re going to need him to keep playing like that.”
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
