It’s easy to get caught up in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ slump in recent weeks
The Toronto Maple Leafs are 1-6-0 in the last seven home games, and that isn’t exactly a stellar record. Sometimes the only comfort can be found in the silver lining, which in this game is undoubtedly the return of starting goaltender Frederik Andersen.
In contrast to the Leafs’ poor home stretch, the loss snapped a streak in which Andersen had not been beaten for seven straight home games since the Dallas Stars visited Toronto on November 1st.
While the Leafs put on a sloppy performance, Andersen put on a dazzling show in the crease, pulling out a number of highlight-reel-worthy saves to keep the Leafs in the competition. His performance included a sprawling glove save in which Andersen, chest already pressed to the ice, denied Carl Söderberg to maintain Toronto’s short-lived 2-0 lead.
The Leafs lost to the Avalanche 6-3, with two empty net goals sealing the deal; however, Andersen stopped 32 of 36 shots faced. His performance may not be up to his usual standard of play, but Andersen still looked solid in his first game back from a nagging groin injury that kept him sidelined since December 22nd.
The Toronto Maple Leafs may be slacking, but Freddie Andersen sure isn’t.
In the wake of this recent string of losses, Leafs Nation could use a little positivity. Now seems as good a time as any to reflect upon the stellar season that Leafs MVP Frederik Andersen is posting.
Despite missing eight games, Andersen remains one of the winningest goaltenders in the league with 20 wins, behind only Marc Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights and Martin Jones of the San Jose Sharks. He also has the sixth highest save percentage at 0.922, tied with Tampa Bay phenom and former Vezina nominee Andrei Vasilevskiy.
With a Goals-Against Average of 2.54, Andersen sits on the cusp of the top ten in that category, ranking twelfth league-wide. Of course, Andersen faces more shots than many of the top ten, at 1001 so far this season, good for ninth-most according to The Score.
Visions of Vezina
With numbers as impressive as Andersen’s, it should come as no surprise that analysts take note of his performance. ESPN has him ranked as the favorite for this year’s Vezina Trophy, and during his absence, a poll of 20 NHL.com writers placed him at number one as well.
This comes after a career-best 2017-18 season, in which he finished the regular season ranked fourth overall with a save percentage of 0.918 and 38 wins. Since arriving in Toronto in 2016, Andersen ranks fourth among all goaltenders in overall wins (91 of 163 games played) and fifth in save percentage (0.919), according to the stats database on nhl.com.
The solution to the Toronto Maple Leafs current problems will surely be multifaceted; weaknesses need to be addressed in the defensive corps, and the offense continues to go stale. However, the return of what can only be described as an All-Star goaltender is sure to breathe new life into the new year for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Statistics from http://www.nhl.com/stats/.