LEAFS NOTES: Andersen reflects on ‘scary time’ after blood issues

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Frederik Andersen couldn’t be more grateful to be back on the job.

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The Carolina Hurricanes goaltender has won all three of his starts since returning to the ice following a months-long recovery from deep-vein thrombosis and subsequent pulmonary embolisms.

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“It was something I never dealt with before, brand new for me, having to get through it and deal with that,” Andersen said Saturday morning, hours before the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes met at Scotiabank Arena. “That was a very scary time dating back to when I got diagnosed. I’ve had really good support around me with the team and their doctors and family and friends and so it has been really heartwarming.”

Andersen felt pain in November and tests revealed the blood-clotting issue. He didn’t get back on the ice for full participation in practices until mid-February, and made his first start on March 7 against the Montreal Canadiens, making 24 saves in a 4-1 Hurricanes win.

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Andersen had not been in net since Nov. 2, when he took a loss in New York versus the Rangers.

With Carolina carrying three goalies, Andersen was not slated to start against the Leafs. Pyotr Kochetkov was the first goalie off the morning skate, an indication he would be in net versus Toronto. Spencer Martin is also with the Hurricanes.

During his five seasons with the Leafs before he signed with Carolina in free agency in 2021, we got to know Andersen as a levelheaded person who never wavered from staying on an even keel. That outlook on life in general helped him get through his recovery during the winter.

“Taking it day by day was key,” Andersen, 34, said. “It sucks not being able to play for that long and having to deal with something new, but trusting the process and what the doctors helped me through was really big.

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“I tried not to get too ahead of myself and was happy that I was in a situation to still fight to get back and keep being around the team as much as possible.

“I treated it almost like the off-season since I was not on the ice for at least three months with the first part of the blood-thinners. I felt like I handled it well, taking it as it came, accepted the situation I was in and made the best of it.”

Andersen didn’t want to reveal too much about what comes next for him and how he deals with the potential of blood-clotting on a daily basis.

“I’m not going to go too deep into the future of it, but we have a good plan going,” Andersen said. “I’m happy about that and it has led me to a point where I can participate and get back on the ice.”

Said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe: “Credit to him for staying with it. Great to see him back at it.”

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Andersen caught up with former Leafs teammates Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly on Friday night.

That Matthews has been flirting with a 70-goal pace brings further admiration from Andersen.

“It’s crazy to say you’re not surprised about it, because he is such a good talent,” Andersen said. “He thinks the game in a really unique way in terms of scoring goals. He puts himself in good positions to get good shots off and I think he has a good plan of knowing where to shoot before he even gets the puck. I don’t think there is anyone who does it as good as him. It’s pretty special.”

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LOOSE LEAFS

The absences of forwards Mitch Marner and Calle Jarnkrok because of injury becomes more acute on the penalty kill, which already was not great, sitting at 23rd before Saturday’s game. “It’s a challenge of cleaning some things up and being better as a group for those who are consistent and have been a part of it,” Keefe said. “In other cases, it’s bringing others into it, whether that’s (Connor) Dewar, who has killed a lot in his time in Minnesota, or some other guys like (Bobby) McMann and (Pontus) Holmberg who are getting more time, and (William) Nylander is getting more in different spaces, Matthews is being used a little more. Trying to bring all of that together has become a greater challenge because we have lost two of most prominent and reliable penalty killers.” … Hurricanes forward Evgeny Kuznetsov on his close friend, fellow Russian and Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov: “I believe his best games are ahead of him and pretty sure people will see his best version. He has to have higher goals. He’s not a kid anymore, you can put more pressure on him, he has to learn. I hope he can isolate from all the outside talk and just play hockey.” … Kieffer Bellows scored two goals and had two assists as the Toronto Marlies beat the Rochester Americans 7-3 before a crowd of 10,016 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday afternoon. Nick Abruzzese and Logan Shaw each had a goal and an assist, and goalie Luke Cavallin made 30 saves … Leafs prospect Easton Cowan can set a London Knights point streak record on Sunday in Windsor against the Spitfires as he looks to extend his run to 34 games. Dave Gilmore had a 33-game streak for the Knights in 1993-94 … Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour with some positive words about Keefe: “It’s easy to sit back and say they got all these great players, it’s easy to coach. It’s not that easy. It’s a luxury when you have those guys, but it’s 20 guys who win you games. What impresses me watching them is they have a good system and he gets those guys to play it. It’s part of the reason why they are so successful. They have great talent, but talent (alone) is not going to win it all. You have to have a system in place and you need 20 guys and I think he has done a really good job of that.”

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