- Rod Brind’Amour says he’s “not concerned” about Frederik Andersen’s recent dip
- The Canes goalie has an .867 save percentage over his last six games
- Read below for details and video of Brind’Amour’s Game 2 availability
Rod Brind’Amour isn’t worried about his goalie.
Carolina’s coach was asked Thursday about Frederik Andersen’s slide, with his save percentage falling from .950 in the first two rounds to .867 in the six games since. Brind’Amour shut the question down:
“I think a couple of those games, we weren’t giving up a lot of shots. So the save percentage count is a tough one for our team. We don’t give up a lot. There’s still quality chances. There’s just not a lot of fluff. So yeah, I’m not concerned about it.”
Catch the video of his full pregame availability:
Andersen gave up five goals on 23 shots in Tuesday’s Game 1, a 5-4 loss that saw Vegas erase an early 2-0 hole and grab the winner from Tomas Hertl with 3:24 to play.
The 36-year-old was nearly untouchable while Carolina swept Ottawa and Philadelphia, riding a 1.12 goals-against average through eight straight wins. The Montreal series and the Final opener have been rougher. Per ESPN, Andersen has posted negative goals saved above expected in four of those six games.
In the same video session, Brind’Amour talked about managing Andersen’s workload, which sits at just 12 games and 312 shots this postseason.
“We’ve been fortunate that he hasn’t had to play a ton of games there. But we’re mindful of it. He knows what he needs. If he starts feeling a little fatigued, he’s going to let us know. But I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.”
Vegas didn’t get a goaltending clinic either. Carter Hart coughed up four goals on 29 shots, and the underlying numbers graded him worse than Andersen on the night.
Neither side plans lineup changes for Game 2, which drops the puck at 8 p.m. ET Thursday at Lenovo Center. Carolina will lean on Jaccob Slavin and a defense that rarely gives up much to tighten things in front of its goalie.
Raleigh is ready to make some noise tonight:
A win tonight sends the series to Vegas tied at one. Another loss puts Carolina in a 2-0 hole, and teams that take Game 1 of the Final have gone on to win the Cup 75.6 percent of the time.
