Report: Leafs’ Andersen contradicts Babcock, return in doubt

In case you missed it, yesterday afternoon Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen sat out the team’s victory over the Los Angeles Kings with an apparent knee injury. As a result the team made an emergency recall, calling up ECHL net minder Eamon McAdam.

The @MapleLeafs announced today that the club has recalled goaltender Eamon McAdam from the @NLGrowlers (ECHL) on an emergency basis. Frederik Andersen is listed as day-to-day with a knee injury.

Backup Garret Sparks got the start, securing victory for the Leafs with McAdam watching from the bench and Andersen watching from the press box. Suffice it to say, the Andersen was all anyone could talk about yesterday, even after the Leafs put up another impressive victory, their fifth in a row, over the visiting Kings. Andersen’s statistics to begin the year may not seem impressive, but the Leafs have been a defensive mess in the early going, relying mainly on offence to pull out victories. Andersen is 4-1 with a 3.02 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. 

During his post game media comments Leafs head coach Mike Babcock addressed Andersen’s injury and confirmed that it’s nothing serious. Andersen is expected to get the start later this week on the road agains the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Frederik Andersen will start Thursday versus Pittsburgh, Babcock says.

Well… there you have it, Leafs fans. You can now safely exhale… BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

Sportsnet reporter Chris Johnston is now reporting that Andersen may NOT be ready to go. His source? None other than Andersen, himself.

Check it out:

Freddie Andersen is much less sure than Mike Babcock was about his ability to start Thursday. He's dealing with swelling in his knee and says some movements are uncomfortable.

Well… now I don’t know what to believe.

In all seriousness, this team would be absolutely lost without Andersen between the pipes. The team is riding a five game winning streak and have stormed out of the gate with just one loss in their first seven games. Superstar forward John Tavares and Auston Matthews have carried the load for the Leafs early this season, but it's safe to say that the team would be absolutely sunk were it not for Andersen. The 29 year old goaltender has given the Leafs stability between the pipes the past two seasons, suffice it to say that they’e be in REAL trouble if he misses any sustained length of time.