Andersen sturdy in goal for Hurricanes, playing with heavy heart

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The hugs Frederik Andersen shared with his Carolina Hurricanes teammates after the final horn Friday were as much about consoling him as celebrating the trip to the Stanley Cup Final they had earned together.

Playing with a heavy heart following the death of his longtime agent and friend Claude Lemieux on Thursday, Andersen made 23 saves in a series-clinching 6-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center. Then, with a date with the Vegas Golden Knights in the Cup Final secured, everything seemed to hit the 36-year-old goalie –- reaching his first Cup Final after 13 NHL seasons and the loss of Lemieux, a four-time Cup winner as a player turned agent who he considered much more than that.

“It’s so special to be able to show up for him and make him proud,” Andersen told Jackie Redmond of TNT. “Just to go out and battle. And then the whole team supported me as well. Just can’t speak enough (good) things about this team. It’s been so special to be a part of.”

One by one, Andersen’s teammates embraced him while the crowd celebrated the Hurricanes’ first trip to the Cup Final since they won their first championship in 2006. The last was forward Jordan Martinook, who gave him a long hug and offered some words of support.

“Seeing him, he was emotional,” Martinook said. “We're brothers in here, and I know that's a cliche that every team talks about, but he's an important part of us. And as a friend, and we're family, for us to be able to help him along, and for him to be able to play the way he did, it's impressive.”

This was Andersen’s fourth appearance in a conference final, including three with the Hurricanes (2023, 2025, 2026) in the East and with the Anaheim Ducks in the 2015 Western Conference Final. He came out on the losing end the previous three times.

No goalie has played more than his 98 career Stanley Cup Playoff games before appearing in the Cup Final, so finally breaking through was a significant moment for him individually but one mixed with sadness because of Lemieux’s death.

“Surreal,” he said. “But, yeah, it’s been a difficult couple days. But the way we showed up today, the last couple days, for the team and for each other, it’s been incredible. Can’t talk enough good things about this team and the way they supported me.”

Andersen has been as big a part of Carolina’s 12-1 run through the first three rounds of the playoffs as anyone. Playing every minute of each of the 13 games, he leads the NHL (at least five games played) in goals-against average (1.41), save percentage (.931) and shutouts (three).

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said he wasn’t sure if Andersen would be able to play Friday, though, as he dealt with Lemieux’s tragic death at 60 years old.

“You just don't know how that was going to shake out,” Brind’Amour said. “But obviously he shook it off and battled through it and you saw the emotion after the game. That's a tough time for him, but he made us all proud, that's for sure.”

With the spot in the Cup Final on the line, the Hurricanes vowed to play for their hurting goaltender and came up with their most complete victory of this postseason.

“We're a family and just we were heartbroken,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. “We wanted to do everything we could to play well in front of him.”

Lemieux’s death touched almost everyone in the Hurricanes locker room because his son, Brendan Lemieux, played for them in 2023-24 before playing professionally the past two seasons in Switzerland. But Andersen had a special connection with Lemieux.

When Lemieux split with business partner Ritch Winter, Andersen’s former agent, in 2015, Andersen went with him, and they’ve been together ever since. When Lemieux, who won the Stanley Cup for the first time with the Canadiens in 1986, was asked to be the torchbearer in the pregame ceremony prior to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final in Montreal on Monday, he called Andersen to let him know ahead of time.

Andersen wished he could’ve shared the win Friday with Lemieux. Still, Andersen knew what Lemieux would have told him about the upcoming Cup Final against the Golden Knights, which opens with Game 1 here on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS).

“Just go get it,” he told Redmond. “I think he’s the ultimate competitor, but he’s got the biggest heart. So, he wants it so much for me and for this team.”