Edmonton Oiler Conor McDavid takes the puck to the net Toronto Maple Leaf netminder Frederik Andersen stands his ground during an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on Nov. 1, 2016.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
After a rough introduction to the Toronto market, Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen has found useful refuge in Netflix. The 27-year-old is in a groove in the past week, yielding two goals or fewer in four straight starts. He's stopped 144 of 151 shots in that span (.954 save percentage), including 42 of 43 in a 2-1 win over Buffalo on Thursday night.
The turnaround is owing in part to Andersen shrugging off the pressures of his first weeks as a Leaf. He conceded that his initial struggles, which included an .851 save percentage in his first five starts, were between the ears. He was putting too much pressure on himself.
Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said methods to distract the mind outside the rink would help. For Andersen that was a good dose of Netflix, the video streaming service. His favourite show, of late, is Suits, a legal drama that Andersen was excited to see filming around Toronto.
Babcock spoke to Andersen the day after he was lit up for a career-worst seven goals against the Lightning and professed his confidence in him. He said fans in Toronto wanted to get behind him and hoped he was great.
Andersen was receptive to the advice and took to heart Babcock's suggestion about leaving the game behind when he left the rink.