It’s been an up-and-down 2025-26 season for Carolina Hurricanes’ netminder Frederik Andersen. After winning his first three starts, he went into a two-month dry spell with limited playing time. Once 2026 began, it has been trending in the right direction for “The Great Dane”. That said, is he finding his form at the right time ahead of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Mr. Andersen Entering the Matrix?
After winning on Saturday night (March 14) against the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2, Andersen moved his record to 11-11-5 on the season. While that does not seem eye-popping, he has managed to win four of his last five starts since returning from the 2026 Winter Olympic break. Furthermore, since the start of 2026, Andersen has gone 6-2-3 in his last 11 starts dating back to Jan. 3, against the Colorado Avalanche.
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In those 11 starts, he has a 2.78 goals-against average (GAA) and a .883 save percentage (SV%). Despite the SV% being below .900, Andersen has been solid in the crease since the start of 2026, and especially over his last five starts. He has a 4-1-0 record with a .879 SV% and a 2.59 GAA. When looking back through his 27 total starts, Andersen has a 3.14 GAA and a .873 SV%. One thing to keep in mind when looking at SV%, the Hurricanes are a team that manages to keep teams under 25 shots per game most nights. If a goalie gives up two goals on 20 to 25 shots, the SV% takes a dip, even if they get the win.
When looking at his tandem partner, Brandon Bussi, he has a .899 SV% and a 25-5-1 record, with a 2.37 GAA. When discussing SV% for Hurricanes goalies, context matters. Regarding Andersen, despite going from Nov. 6 to Jan. 8 without a win, he is currently finding his form, which has been huge for the Hurricanes in the two Eastern Conference Final runs they’ve been on over the last three seasons.
In the 2023 NHL Playoffs, Andersen had a 5-3-0 record with a 1.83 GAA and a .927 SV%. He followed that up in the 2025 Playoffs with an 8-5-0 record, a 2.02 GAA, and a .907 SV%. Will he start that many games in the 2026 Playoffs? Probably not with how Bussi has been all season. However, if he can get back to even half of that form in a tandem, that could be pivotal to keep both goalies healthy for a deep playoff run.
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While Andersen’s form hasn’t been the best all season, to see the switch flip with 16 games left could be huge moving forward for Rod Brind’Amour’s side as they look to make the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006, where he led the franchise to its first-ever Stanley Cup win. If Andersen continues the current trajectory of winning games as he has been, he and Bussi could be a tandem that gets the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in four seasons.
Even if that is not guaranteed, just to see Andersen playing vintage Andersen hockey as a calm force in the crease is a breath of relief for the Hurricanes. Despite the early-season struggles before the start of the new year, the Hurricanes kept believing in him, and now they are being rewarded with a goalie tandem that can win them games on a nightly basis. If this trend continues, watch out for Andersen and Bussi to be a solid duo this upcoming playoffs.
