The goalie, who has won six straight games, will try to get Hurricanes (31-9-2) their fifth win in a row when he faces his former team. He played the previous five seasons for the Maple Leafs before agreeing to a two-year, $9 million contract ($4.5 million average annual value) with Carolina on July 28.
The Maple Leafs (29-10-3) come into the first game after the break for the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend winners of five straight.
"It's fun to see some old friends like last time, when they came to see us down in Raleigh," Andersen said. "It'll be nice just to be going again with real hockey in the second half here."
Andersen made 24 saves in a 4-1 win against the Maple Leafs at PNC Arena on Oct. 25.
"It was pretty early in the season, so I was still just trying to get settled in and obviously we were kind of on a roll then," Andersen said. "Not too many takeaways to that game other than it was a good game, they got off to a lead and we answered back. Two really good teams at it again tonight and since then, Toronto has had a really good year like us. It should be a good game."
Andersen is 24-6-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and one shutout in 30 games (29 starts). He's tied with Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators for second in the NHL in wins, one behind Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and his GAA is first among NHL goalies to play at least 20 games.
"We've always had good goaltending, but 'Freddie' has won us a lot of games," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said.
Andersen played his first three NHL seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, then was traded to Toronto on June 20, 2016. He went 149-74-36 with a 2.79 GAA, .914 save percentage and 13 shutouts in 268 regular-season games and 10-14 with a 2.78 GAA and .916 save percentage in 25 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Maple Leafs.
A lower-body injury last season limited Andersen to one game after March 19. He backed up Jack Campbell during the Maple Leafs' seven-game loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup First Round.
When free agency began July 28, the Maple Leafs signed goalie Petr Mrazek to a three-year, $11.4 million contract ($3.8 million AAV) to partner with Campbell and Andersen signed with the Hurricanes.
Mrazek, who played the previous three seasons for Carolina, will start Monday. He is 5-2-0 with a 2.94 GAA and .902 save percentage in seven games (six starts) this season.
"Looking back, it feels like yesterday just getting into the League and getting into Toronto, but it just reminds you that you really have to take it all in and enjoy the process and enjoy every day you can realizing how quick everything goes once you look back," Andersen said.
Andersen comes into the game after a strong showing in the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game on Saturday, making 13 saves on 16 shots in two games to help the Metropolitan Division win the event.
Several players at the NHL All-Star Game praised Andersen for his play this season.
"He's a good goaltender; he's having a great year," Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid said. "He's definitely one of the best out there. Definitely makes it tough on shooters."
Brind'Amour said he's seen that high level of play from Andersen all season.
"We've played pretty well this year as a group, but he's gotten us [some wins] himself because he was better than the guy across from him in quite a few games this year and that's been a difference," Brind'Amour said.
"That speaks for itself, his record and everything, but it's certainly helped us big time."
NHL.com staff writer Bill Douglas and independent correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report
