Toronto Maple Leafs: Frederik Andersen off to a Great Start

The Toronto Maple Leafs have very little to worry about when it comes to their starting goalie so far this season.

The 2018-19 season is now 15 games old, and the Toronto Maple Leafs have emerged as one of the top teams in the NHL.

Part of it has to do with their potent offensive attack, led by the likes of John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, and Auston Matthews before he got injured. The team has also enjoyed success from their defensive unit, including Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott.

There is no player playing a bigger role in the team’s early success than Frederik Andersen. Fresh off his best month of October in a Leafs uniform, Andersen’s strong play to start the season has helped Toronto stay in a lot of games.

So let’s take a closer look at what has contributed to Andersen’s impressive start to the 2018-19 season.

Steady as ever

Andersen’s numbers across the board are really strong early on and an encouraging sign for the Leafs that their starting netminder had no rust.

In 13 games, he has 8 wins, a .929 SV%, a 2.18 GAA, and a shutout. When compared to the rest of the league, this has him ranked 1st, 13th, 11th, and 8th respectively.

Going deeper, his advanced numbers are pretty impressive. When accounting for the quality of scoring chances he’s faced, he has a .828 HDSV%, a .922 MDSV%, and a .982 LDSV%. These have him ranked 19th, 12th, and 7th in the NHL respectively.

Perhaps most impressive is the fact that of the 394 shots he has faced, Andersen sees an average distance of 38.59 feet which is 7th best in the NHL. Meaning, his defenders are doing a great job keeping a majority of the chances against from further out. This is emphasized by the fact he has stopped 163 of 166 LDSA and has stopped 106 of 115 MDSA.

To put it simply, Andersen’s numbers have been mostly strong and has subsequently had his best start to the season as a Leaf.

Strong October, but can be better

As a result of his strong start to the campaign, Andersen’s stats are the best he’s had in the month of October since joining the team in 2016.

For the 2016-17 season as per ESPN, he had a .876 SV%, a 3.71 GAA and only recorded 2 wins in October. To start the 2017-18 season, he improved to 6 wins but also had a .896 SV% and a 3.46 GAA in October.

Seeing Andersen’s numbers improve all across the board in October 2018 is an encouraging sign he was ready to start the season, as previously mentioned. He is, however, not without some flaws in his game.

As in the past, Andersen has had to face a high number of shots with 394 so far this season which the 4th most in the NHL so far. He has also allowed the most rush attempts against (27), the 7th most rebound attempts against (42), and his average goal distances are 14th worst in the league (21.46 feet).

What does this all mean? While Andersen has looked steady to start the season, he has had to face a heavy workload as well as many quality scoring chances. For the Leafs to continue to have success, he will need to get some more support from his defenders.

Conclusion

Let’s not take for granted how impressive Andersen’s opening month and a bit to the 2018-19 season has been. All across the board, he has quickly risen to among the best in the league while looking sharp nearly every game.

This was his best October as a Leaf, but some underlying stats show he still has work to do (as well as the Leafs defence). Nonetheless, his current pace should help Toronto keep up with the heavyweights.

Is a Vezina Trophy in his future? Possibly if he can maintain this strong level of play. One thing is certain, the Leafs have very little to worry about when it comes to their starting goalie.

Thanks for reading!

All stats unless otherwise noted are from Natural Stat Trick and Hockey-Reference.