Frederik Andersen is proving that patience pays off. The Carolina Hurricanes goaltender, now 36, didn't have the smoothest start to the regular season. At times, he was searching for his game, watching a waiver-wire pickup steal the spotlight in net. But as the Hurricanes storm into the Eastern Conference final for the third time in four years, Andersen is playing the best hockey of his career.
Statistically, he's been unstoppable. Andersen leads all postseason goaltenders with a staggering 1.12 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. Through two rounds, he's allowed just 10 goals total, backstopping Carolina to an 8-0 record. That makes the Hurricanes the first team to sweep the first two rounds since the NHL adopted best-of-seven series across all four rounds in 1987.
How did he get here? It was a gradual climb. Andersen started feeling more like himself as 2026 arrived, but the real spark came from an unexpected source: representing Denmark at the Milan Cortina Olympics. That experience rejuvenated him, and he carried that momentum through the end of the regular season.
“I thought I was playing really good hockey down the end of the regular season and just continued to build,” Andersen said. “That's the focus still, one practice now at a time until we know who we're playing and when — and just staying ready.”
Head coach Rod Brind'Amour leans on experience when making lineup decisions, but he trusts goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder to make the call on who starts between the pipes. When it came time to choose between Andersen and 31-game winner Brandon Bussi for the postseason, the decision was clear.
“He knows them better than I do. He knows where they're at, where their game's at, where their game is capable of going,” Brind'Amour said. “It was an easy decision: he was like, ‘No, Freddie's the guy.'”
Andersen repaid that faith immediately. He opened the first round with a shutout against Ottawa, then blanked Philadelphia in Game 1 of the next series. Now, with another lengthy break to recharge before facing Montreal or Buffalo, Andersen is poised to keep writing his playoff story.
For a goaltender who had to fight his way back to elite form, this postseason run is a testament to resilience. And for Hurricanes fans, it's a reminder that great goaltending is the foundation of a championship run.