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Carolina Hurricanes: Three takeaways as Canes double up Islanders

ByConor Power|
TAMPA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 01: Ryan Suzuki #61 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates a goal during a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on October 01, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 01: Ryan Suzuki #61 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates a goal during a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on October 01, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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TORONTO, ON – MAY 27: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs stretches during warmup prior to action against the Montreal Canadiens in Game Five of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 27, 2021, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – MAY 27: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs stretches during warmup prior to action against the Montreal Canadiens in Game Five of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 27, 2021, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Canadiens defeated the Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Frederik Andersen

I know that this might sound a little weird. You would expect better stats for a goaltender to say that he was one of the big reasons that their team won. But here we are, Frederik Andersen was a major reason the Carolina Hurricanes won this game. His first game as a Cane was a fantastic showing of what he’s capable of, and it shows why the Canes thought he was the guy moving forward.

Andersen made big saves when Carolina needed him. He made big saves when the game was tight, and if not for a little bit of bad luck, he might have even made a highlight-reel save on one of the goals the Islanders would have eventually scored. While there might be questions long term about his health, right now, he’s proving he’s the guy for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Only stopping 25 of 28 doesn’t seem like the kind of netminding performance you’d be praising in theory, but the timeliness of his saves was massive. Carolina dominated most of this game, but when they needed to recharge, Andersen was there to clean up the pieces when the team needed him. Are there areas of improvement for Andersen? Yes. But this is a good starting point.

Andersen has always been a solid netminder when he isn’t overplayed. This is why Carolina has made the effort to effectively run a tandem as opposed to a pure number 1 starter. Andersen is just one piece of this, and we’ll see if we see the other parts against Nashville. But one thing that is for sure is that Andersen was a big part of the Canes’ success against New York.

It’s a nice change of pace to be celebrating the netminding after all the looming questions from this offseason. Andersen did his part and the Canes know that he will need to continue that going forward if this team wants to push for the playoffs and get past the other Stanley Cup contenders.

With that, we look to Nashville on Sunday. Off to a perfect start, the Canes look to push on in Music City. We’ll be right here covering it on Cardiac Cane. Until then, stay safe, and LETS GO CANES.

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