Frederik Andersen's shutout leads Hurricanes past Senators in playoff series opener

Andersen rewarded his coach with a shutout performance — along with a highlight-reel save that helped the Hurricanes stay in control. The 36-year-old Dane had 22 saves and earned his sixth playoff shutout, and third in the past two postseasons, as the Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 2-0 on Saturday to open the best-of-7 first-round series. He held up when clean looks were coming intermittently in a game with little open ice against a pair of hard-checking teams, then stepped up huge when the Senators were buzzing with multiple quality third-period chances in a one-goal game.

“Of course you’re looking for goalies to make saves at the right time, and that’s the right time,” Brind’Amour said. “And that’s what he did tonight. Like, I don’t even know how you explain it.

That was exactly the game, right there. And he was up for the challenge tonight. ” “Right there” was the third-period stop on Drake Batherson, followed quickly by one on Brady Tkachuk with the Hurricanes protecting a 1-0 lead against Ottawa’s power play.

Initially, Andersen stopped Batherson at the top of the crease, but Batherson batted a rebound attempt near Andersen’s stretched-out left leg near the post that sent the puck airborne. Andersen reached out to stop the puck before ultimately gloving it, though an official signaled a tying score. It was unclear whether Andersen’s glove might have been behind the goal line when he controlled the puck, leading to a replay review.