The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t just lose the game against the Florida Panthers, but also their goalie Frederik Andersen. A 5-3 defeat wouldn’t hurt that much if it weren’t for this massive setback for Sheldon Keefe’s guys.
It happened to be a psychological blow for the Maple Leafs, who were completely looking disorganized on the ice of the Scotiabank Arena. His replacement, Michael Hutchinson conceded four goals in the last period, to allow the guests to rally from a 3-1 deficit, and to deliver a knockout to the hosts.
Andersen’s injury came after his teammate Jake Muzzin pushed Panthers’ center Frank Vatrano, who would then hit Toronto’s goalie, who fell pretty badly. The 30-year old from Denmark continued to play until the end of the sequence, before being replaced. So far, coach Keefe stated that he seems fine, but that the medical staff wants to be sure on this one, and that he as well as the doctors don’t want to rush the goalie back on the ice.
“They’re just going to have to give him the night and see how he is in the morning. He went through that whole [concussion protocol] process. My understanding is the results were positive on that, but given the nature of the injury, to take caution,” Keefe said.
Andersen is one of the key pieces in Maple Leafs’ campaign, and so far he started 42 of the regular 53 games. He would average 2.87 goals per game, with a save percentage of .910. In the games, he began Toronto recorded 24-9-6.
In the moments of his injury, the Panthers had a lead, and Hutchinson replaced him. The 29-year old from Ontario didn’t have too much job, as his teammates efficiently prevented all the danger, and also, managed to turn the result upside down, and score twice in the second frame, once through John Tavares at 3:21, and the second time with William Nylander’s hit 55 seconds before the end of the sequence.
Auston Matthews raised the lead to 3-1 just 38 seconds inside the final period. However, that was when everything started to fall apart for the hosts.
Less than two minutes after that, Mark Pysyk scored the second of his three goals, and after him, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mike Hoffman added one each to stun the hosts.
Pysyk put an end to this contest, using the empty net of the rivals 48 seconds before the end.
“I got lucky at the end there, breakaway, open net,” Pysyk said. “I thought I was going to miss it. I was a little nervous.”
Keefe wasn’t too disappointed even though his team managed to blow a massive lead.
“I thought we played a really good game. If we play that type of game 100 times, I think we win it 99 of those times, something in that neighborhood. “
The Panthers (29-17-5) are traveling to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets the next Tuesday. Meanwhile, Maple Leafs (28-18-7) head for New York, where they meet the Rangers on Wednesday.
