Andersen rewards Hurricanes to start Eastern 1st Round, looks to ‘do it again’ in Game 2

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Frederik Andersen sat in the shadows for the Carolina Hurricanes for so long this season.

A focal point of this team since his arrival as a big-ticket free agent in 2021, the goalie was suddenly pushed into the background while Brandon Bussi Mania ran wild.

Bussi, claimed off waivers by the Hurricanes as injury insurance on Oct. 5, 2025, played in 39 games and won 31 of them, becoming a cult hero and the No. 1 goalie at the same time.

Yet, Andersen waited, unflappable and sometime inscrutable. He suffered through injuries, long stretches of inactivity and the disappointment of posting an NHL career-worst .874 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average in 35 starts.

There was no guarantee Andersen would play against the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference First Round. In fact, there was a sound argument to go with the wunderkind.

But Andersen never lost faith. He knew his resume and was willing to stand on it to make his case. He’d played 85 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks, including 32 with Carolina. The only goalie in this season’s tournament with more starts is Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (115).

So, when Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour told Andersen he was starting the series opener, the “Great Dane” responded and is arguably the biggest reason why the Hurricanes are ahead in the best-of-7 series entering Game 2 at Lenovo Center on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, ESPN2, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS, CBC). Andersen made 22 saves in a 2-0 victory here on Saturday.

“Of course, you are looking for goalies to make saves at the right time,” Brind’Amour said after Game 1. “That’s what he did tonight. How do you explain it? That was exactly the game right there and he was up to the challenge.”

The 36-year-old usually is.

Andersen didn’t gloat after the fact; there were no boastful “I-told-you-so” proclamations. Just a steely-eyed stare and quiet confidence.

“Every day is a new day, and you just have to be grateful for what you’ve got,” he said. “We made it to the playoffs, and we get the opportunity to fight out there for a night and then go do it again.”

Andersen doesn’t have to bang the drum. The men who play in front of him do that for him.

Forward Taylor Hall arrived in a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks last season. In the ensuing playoffs, he watched Andersen do everything he could to get the Hurricanes to the conference final, where they lost to the Florida Panthers in five games.

“I think he is a guy from what I saw last year, that when the lights are brightest, he’s going to be there standing tall,” Hall said.

Captain Jordan Staal was among the first to greet Andersen upon his arrival and has been with through all the highs and lows.

Staal said Saturday was vintage Andersen, pointing specifically to a penalty kill early in the third period after defenseman Jalen Chatfield was whistled for interference at 2:40.

At 3:54, Drake Batherson thought he had tied the game 1-1, believing his wrist shot had beaten Andersen. Linemate Brady Tkachuk concurred, raising his hands joyously. The closest referee pointed emphatically toward the net, signaling a good goal.

Andersen wasn’t so sure.

“I had a good feeling that my glove wasn’t across the goal line, and I felt I got a good piece of it and the cameras agreed,” he said.

Andersen had stopped the shot with the cuff of his catching glove and then pushed it out; the goal was nullified on review.

“He bailed me out a couple of times (on the power play) because I was kind of swimming,” Staal said. “Throughout the game, he was just steady, eating pucks when he had to and even breaking out pucks. Doing all the things to help our team win.”

Later in the power play, Anderson had fallen onto the seat of his pants, yet he still found a way to stop Tkachuk. All told, Andersen made five saves on that power play.

He knows the building will be rocking again Monday, just as loud as it was when Staal fought Tkachuk off the opening face-off or when Logan Stankoven scored the first goal at 2:11 of the second period, or when Hall got the insurance goal at 7:15 of the third.

“It is pretty wild how loud it gets and how fun it is to play here,” Andersen said. “You saw it right away, obviously with the fight. The whole night, they are on their feet and very loud. So, it’s the best time of the year.”

It’s Andersen’s time of year.