Frederik Andersen living up to expectations

TORONTO-- The puck went around him, leaked through him, dribbled behind him, whizzed past him, slid under him. He ended up on his belly, his knees, his behind, all fours. He gave up seven goals.
It was the fifth game of Frederik Andersen's tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs. But the 7-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 25 was the worst of his NHL career and fodder for second-guessing.
This was the goaltender the Maple Leafs had acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for first- and second-round picks? This was the guy they had given a five-year contract worth a reported $25 million?
He was 1-1-3 with an .851 save percentage.

"At that point," Andersen said, "I just kind of realized that I had to go back and just be me."
At this point, it looks like it was just part of Andersen's transition to Toronto, and that transition is complete when he plays against the Ducks for the first time at Air Canada Centre on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; SNO, PRIME, NHL.TV).

Since Oct. 25, he has gone 11-6-3 with a .934 save percentage. He feels like his old self again and doesn't want to disrupt it by dwelling on his old team.
"I know it's going to be special, but it's going to be business as usual for me," Andersen said.
Andersen's early struggles need to be kept in perspective: He sustained an upper-body injury playing for Denmark in an Olympic qualifier in Minsk, Belarus, on Sept. 2. He sat out the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto instead of playing for Team Europe. He missed the start of Maple Leafs training camp.
So when he joined the Maple Leafs, he was returning from injury, adjusting to a new team and adjusting to a new town. And the Maple Leafs weren't simply a new team. And Toronto wasn't simply a new town.
The Maple Leafs finished 30th in the NHL standings with 69 points and 25th in goals against (240) last season; the Ducks finished sixth in the League standings with 103 points and first in goals against last season (188). Anaheim isn't overflowing with hockey media; Toronto is the center of the hockey universe.
"A normal day here would be like when we were playing in the Conference Finals back when we were there two years ago," Andersen said after practice one day last week. "I think now it's just getting used to that."
Andersen looked to his left, where teammate Morgan Rielly was surrounded by reporters and cameras and microphones.
"If you look at a scrum like this, it's pretty much everyday life," he said. "That would be a big one out there."
Now factor in Andersen's new contract.
"When you establish yourself with a bigger salary, no one really cares," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "But you do, because you want to earn that salary, and you put extra pressure on yourself."
Andersen tried to do too much and got too aggressive. Babcock said he wasn't overly shocked under the circumstances. But Andersen went back to relying on his technique and 6-foot-4, 230-pound body, letting the play come to him instead of chasing the next save, being more patient in his crease.
The first five games faded and so did the second-guessing. After 25 games, Andersen is 12-7-6 with a .919 save percentage. His save percentage last season with the Ducks was .919.

He's right back where he was in a sense, someplace completely different in another. He lives in downtown Toronto and loves walking around, seeing Maple Leafs hats on every corner on off days and Maple Leafs sweaters everywhere on game days. He loves seeing thousands of Maple Leafs fans in the rinks on the road.
"It's just another motivation to do your job," Andersen said. "Everyone wants to have the Toronto Maple Leafs succeed here. I think the city loves when we do well and gets excited when we win, and we feel the same emotions obviously. We want to win for the city and for the people in the locker room."
Anaheim seems far away.
"Definitely a lot of friends there and guys that I've played with for a few years, and some good times and some tough times too," Andersen said. "It's just more of being in the moment here and loving being here. It's nothing I worry too much about or spend too much time thinking about. It was a good time there, but it's a really good time here too."