- Frederik Andersen stopped all 22 shots in a 2-0 Hurricanes win over the Senators in Game 1.
- The 36-year-old notched his sixth career playoff shutout, putting Carolina up 1-0 in the series.
- Read below for the video highlights, Logan Stankoven’s opening goal, and how Andersen won the net back from Brandon Bussi.
Frederik Andersen waited all season for this. The 36-year-old got the Game 1 nod on Saturday in Raleigh and rewarded Rod Brind’Amour’s faith, stopping all 22 shots as the Carolina Hurricanes shut out the Ottawa Senators 2-0 at Lenovo Center.
It was Andersen’s sixth career Stanley Cup Playoff shutout and his first in more than a year.
Starting him was not a given. Brandon Bussi came out of nowhere after being claimed off waivers on Oct. 5, 2025, then won 31 of his 39 appearances for Carolina. Andersen sat for long stretches, battled injuries, and finished the regular season with a career-worst .874 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average across 35 starts.
Brind’Amour leaned on playoff experience. Andersen came into the series with 85 career postseason appearances, second only to Andrei Vasilevskiy among active starters in this year’s tournament.
“Every day is a new day, and you just have to be grateful for what you’ve got,” Andersen said, according to NHL.com. “We made it to the playoffs, and we get the opportunity to fight out there for a night and then go do it again.”
Logan Stankoven opened the scoring at 2:11 of the second period, taking a touch pass from Jackson Blake and sliding a snap shot under Linus Ullmark’s pad. Taylor Hall doubled the lead at 7:15 of the third on a scramble in front after Alexander Nikishin’s point shot squirted loose behind Ullmark. Blake picked up two assists and Hall added one on Stankoven’s opener.
Ullmark made 27 saves for Ottawa but could not match Andersen’s biggest moment of the night. Drake Batherson thought he had tied the game 3:54 into the third, only to see the goal wiped off on video review after Andersen gloved the puck down before it crossed the line.
The Dane smothered a Brady Tkachuk redirect at the top of the crease 25 seconds later and then watched his teammates block four shots during a late 6-on-4 penalty kill.
The full video highlights from the NHL capture every Andersen stop and both Carolina goals.
Game 2 is Monday at Lenovo Center at 7:30 p.m. ET. Carolina got the opener despite a chippy start that included a Tkachuk-Staal scrap three seconds into the game, and the Hurricanes will try to make it 2-0 in the series behind the goalie they bet on when it mattered most.
