Andersen's puck-handling skills are 'huge asset' for Hurricanes in Stanley Cup Playoffs

RALEIGH, N.C. -- When Frederik Andersen was growing up in Denmark, the Carolina Hurricanes goalie saw a video clip of Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars that changed how he played.

“It was like three minutes of him just playing the puck,” Andersen said. “He was out everywhere playing it. He was in the corner, up by the hash marks. He was just absolutely touching the puck more than any of the 'D.'

“That was impressive.”

Like others, Andersen adopted the “Turco grip” of turning his catching glove over to hold the stick shaft, providing more control to make accurate passes on the forehand and backhand and helping him make puck-handling a valuable – though sometimes overlooked – facet of his game.

While Andersen was putting up eye-popping numbers (8-0, NHL-best 1.12 goals-against average and .950 save percentage) in helping Carolina sweep its way through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, his puck-handling was an unheralded part of that success. It’s something the Montreal Canadiens or the Buffalo Sabres, whichever team advances to face the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center on Thursday, will undoubtedly be aware of because of how well it fits into the way they play. 

“His ability to play the puck is a huge asset, especially for a team like Carolina that has speed,” ESPN analyst and former NHL goalie Kevin Weekes said. “He helps them exit out of their D-zone quicker, and then they can attack faster. They force you to play at a pace and a tempo that is uncomfortable and it’s a lot easier to do that when you’re getting out of your D-zone faster, and he certainly helps with that.”

The Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers experienced that in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Carolina generates relentless pressure with its forecheck and puck possession that results in extended shifts in the offensive zone. When opponents are finally able to get the puck out and try to establish some forecheck pressure of their own, those efforts are often diffused by the combination of Andersen’s puck-handling and the Hurricanes defensemen quickly skating or passing it out of the defensive zone.

As a result, the Hurricanes have allowed an average of 25.1 shots on goal per game through the first two rounds, which are second fewest in the playoffs behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (22.3), who lost to the Canadiens in seven games in the first round. Despite two games going to overtime, Philadelphia managed just 22.8 shots on goal and 34 shot attempts per game in the four games against Carolina.

“When we play teams that have good puck-handling goaltenders, it's tough for us to get our forecheck going, too,” Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. “Freddie is very underrated at it. The quicker we can get pucks out of our end and put in their end, the stress is on them. So, it just goes along with what we're trying to do.”

Teams put even more emphasis in the playoffs on making simple plays such as dumping the puck in and trying to retrieve it below the goal line. That adds even more value to Andersen’s ability to thwart some of those attempts by stopping the puck in the trapezoid behind the net or before it reaches the corners and passing it to one of his teammates to start the breakout.

“Nowadays everybody forechecks,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Everybody is putting pucks in deep way more than they have ever. So, that’s a big part of it. If you can get good puck touches all over, it’s important.

“That’s one of his skillsets, so that certainly helps.”

Andersen rarely gets much recognition for it, though. He did not receive a vote in the NHL Players’ Association’s players’ poll this season ranking the goalies with the best puck-handling skill. The five goalies who did were Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues, Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, Joey Daccord of the Seattle Kraken, Joel Hofer of the Blues and Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils.

Weekes speculated that Andersen might have been overlooked because he missed some time with injuries, but it also might be because the 36-year-old isn’t as aggressive as some of the goalies on that list. Defenseman K'Andre Miller, who was teammates with Shesterkin for five seasons before the Rangers traded him to the Hurricanes last offseason, said there are “different levels” to the puck-handling goalies.

“I think Freddie is really good in his D-zone, passing pucks to us defensemen, rimming the puck out of the zone, whereas Igor is really good at those long ‘Hail Mary’ passes, getting the puck up on the glass and things like that,” Miller said. “So, there's a little bit of a difference, but I think any time you can have a goalie that helps your breakout and can get the puck out of your D-zone, it’s definitely an advantage.”

Andersen acknowledged he’s a “less is more type of guy,” similar to Carey Price, the former Canadiens goalie he also admired when he was younger.

“You can put yourself in really some bad spots if you just chase that part of the game and you can make more headaches for your 'D' than helping out,” Andersen said. “So, when it makes sense to do it, obviously help out. Then, if it's those slow rollers that you don't really know if they're coming into the trapezoid area, if you're standing there waiting for it, you're creating a lot of confusion, and you're probably better off just letting the 'D' handle it themselves.”

Like Price, Andersen uses a slightly shorter staff on his stick to give him more control.

“It maybe doesn't shoot it as high and far as other goalies, but I've put an emphasis on being able to pull it off the boards, set it, get it to a spot quick and then be a little bit more agile with it instead of the hard, long passes that are more flashy,” Andersen said. “But what I like is just to be able to help the 'D' out and make those 15-foot passes in the middle, small bypasses and stuff like that.”

Andersen views it as “being a good person to your 'D'” and repaying them for the hard work they do in front of him.

Andersen isn’t at the level of Martin Brodeur, who was considered, along with Turco and Ron Hextall, among the best puck-handling goalies in NHL history. But Weekes said Andersen’s puck-handling complements the Hurricanes’ system in a similar way to how Brodeur did with the Devils, who also frustrated opponents with their structure.

“I saw it firsthand,” said Weekes, who was teammates with Brodeur for two seasons (2007-09). “So, it's kind of the perfect storm for the ‘Canes’ and Freddie’s ability to handle it.”