Andersen, Maple Leafs shut out Panthers with one goal

TORONTO-- Frederik Andersen made 40 saves for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 1-0 win against the Florida Panthers at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday.

"The game was tough from the beginning; the ice was a little tough, it seemed like it was bouncing off guys' sticks," Andersen said. "We knew it could be a low-scoring game where the chances really weren't coming that often, so I had to be sharp."
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Maple Leafs highlights]
James van Riemsdyk scored late in the first period for the Maple Leafs (37-20-5), who have won 11 of their past 13 games. Toronto trails the Boston Bruins by three points for second place in the Atlantic Division; Boston has four games in hand.

Roberto Luongo made 30 saves for the Panthers (26-25-6), who have lost two in a row after winning seven of nine. Florida went 3-2-0 on a five-game road trip and trails the Columbus Blue Jackets by seven points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Panthers hold three games in hand on the Blue Jackets and will play 11 of their next 12 at home.
"I thought we played a pretty good game in general, there were some good chances on both sides, but unfortunately the goal I gave up, I'd like to have it back, and that was the difference in the game, so obviously I don't feel too great about it," Luongo said.
Van Riemsdyk scored with 29 seconds left in the first period; he has scored in five of his past seven games.

"I thought today was one of his better games for sure," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "James has the ability to score. It was one Luongo would like to have back; [he] made tons of good saves, he'd have liked to have that one back, but that's what James seems to do, he just gets it in and other guys, as you see, don't."
Andersen, who has won five of his past six starts, earned his 30th victory of the season (30-16-4). It was his NHL career-high fifth shutout; he had four last season.
"Very structured given the fact that everyone knew it could be low-scoring; I think we settled in and made sure we played tight defensively," Andersen said. "Everyone was blocking shots, even [Auston] Matthews at the end there."

Van Riemsdyk took a pass from Tyler Bozak and shot between Luongo's pads from the slot.
"It wasn't through traffic, but it was kind of a quick sweep of a shot the way he shot it off," Luongo said. "It just caught me off guard a little bit and obviously I wasn't able to get my stick on it in time."
It was van Riemsdyk's 25th goal of the season.
"I was just trying to get it off as quick as I could," he said. "Where the puck kind of laid, I wasn't able to get it up, but sometimes the element of surprise goes a long way."

Goal of the game

Van Riemsdyk's goal at 19:31 of the first period.

Save of the game

Andersen's save on Colton Sceviour at 6:52 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Matthews hitting the post on a delayed penalty at 5:50 of the second period.

They said it

"I thought the guys emptied their tanks and left it all out there. It was a good team we were playing, and a little unfortunate with 29 seconds to go in the first, they got that goal. Those are huge goals at the end of periods, but we did everything but score tonight. I have to commend these guys, but it just wasn't our night tonight." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner
"I don't know if I've ever seen him not calm. He makes it easy for us. Plays the puck great, just real solid tonight. Yeah, I think he's gotten a lot more comfortable and starting to have more of a leadership role and be more vocal. He's a quiet guy, but I think he's being more vocal this year and playing tremendous." -- Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner on Frederik Andersen
"Both goalies were really hot tonight, and I think in the third we put some pressure, we got a lot of chances, but it didn't go in. It's a tough loss. We had a good road trip going, 1-0, it could have gone either way." -- Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau

Need to know

Andersen is the fifth Maple Leafs goaltender to have multiple shutouts when making at least 40 saves. He made 42 saves against the New Jersey Devils in a 1-0 overtime win on Nov. 16. ... Gardiner's assist was his 200th NHL point.

What's next

Panthers: Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, FS-F, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)