Andersson's run of 323 straight games came to a screeching halt last Thursday in the Motor City when he was struck by a vehicle while riding an e-scooter on his way to dinner. The 26-year-old was understandably "rattled," according to Flames GM Brad Treliving, and was transported to a local hospital in the back of an ambulance, but thankfully suffered no major injuries before being released to the team's medical staff a few hours later.
The blueliner had dressed in 323 consecutive games - the fifth-longest binge among active NHLers - dating back to November of 2018.
He's the Flames' top minute-muncher, leading point-getter on the backend, and a huge part of the team's leadership group.
In other words: They've missed him dearly.
On, and off the ice.
"If we got him back, it would be huge," said longtime partner Noah Hanifin. "He's really good offensively, but he's also good at big times and big moments in the game, and always has few of those game-changing plays throughout the year. That's something you need on the team. Just with the minutes he plays... He's so good at the 200-foot game, he's a smart player, he kind of brings that whole package and he's super valuable to our team."
Andersson - who was a full participant at Wednesday's practice - took part in the optional morning skate and did not stay out for any additional work after, signalling a return is near.
In Andersson's absence, Hanifin has been paired with Chris Tanev, while Nikita Zadorov and MacKenzie Weegar, and farmhand Dennis Gilbert and Michael Stone have rounded out the combos.
"Everybody needs to step up," Stone said. "We're not in a position where we can take anything for granted here, so we've got to be a little bit better.
"It's just nice to see (Andersson), to be honest. That's a scary situation he was in. It's good to see everything worked out as OK as it could have."
