A late Christmas gift has arrived on the Carolina doorstep. Goaltender Frederik Andersen has returned from his ailment and was given the start against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Andersen would help propel his team to victory by the score of 6-2. It is good for Andersen, and his confidence as the team continues its playoff push. Andersen has only played in 8 games and has a 5-3 record with a subpar .891 save percentage.
Brief Recap
The Carolina Hurricanes whooped the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-2. Carolina ended a four-game skid, and Andersen got to pick up the win. The awesome thing is that five of the six goals came from defensemen. Brett Pesce (2), Brent Burns, Jalen Chatfield, Jacob Slavin, and finally, Seth Jarvis was the lone forward for the goal. Carolina outshot Columbus 41-23 and dominated other areas of the game. They dominated possession (62.79 Corsi For), had 27 scoring chances, and won the expected goals battle with 67.67%. Just a completely dominant performance by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Andersen Shines In Return
Andersen stopped 21 of 23 shots he faced in all situations. He would go on to finish the game with a .913 save percentage. It was a very low-event game for Columbus, but he was sharp when he needed to be. He would finish the game with -0.12 GSAX, so given what he was up against, he played as expected just about.
After Pyotr Kochetkov and Antti Raanta helped steer the ship for the time being, he is now back in the blue paint. It will be interesting to see if Carolina carries three goalies, trades one, or simply sends Kochetkov to the minors.
