Maple Leafs lose star goaltender Frederick Anderson at worst possible time

James Van Riemsdyk’s hat trick and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ win was overshadowed by injury to their MVP-caliber goaltender Frederik Andersen.

Imagine what a Toronto Maple Leafs team team would like through a full 82 games without the pair of Auston Mathews and Frederik Andersen. It’s fair to say they likely wouldn’t be gearing up for a lengthy playoff run come Apr. 11 as they are right now.

Not five minutes into Wednesday night’s clash with the Dallas Stars, a team fighting for their playoff lives playing in a back-to-back situation, the Maple Leafs quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Nazem Kadri scored first on an unassisted play after a puck-playing mishap by Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen. James Van Riemsdyk scored just 25 seconds later on a rebound in front after a Connor Carrick point shot and a follow up chance by Tyler Bozak.

The Stars would eventually finish the period as Toronto started it, by scoring two goals. In the final 6:30, Jamie Benn got the ball rolling for Dallas. After being left wide open in front, the Stars captain scored on a nice feed from Tyler Seguin. Just more than two minutes later, Radek Faksa netted his 14th of the year on a deflection in front. This sent the game tied 2-2 into the first intermission.

Dallas began the second as iy ended the first. Seguin buried his 37th of the year just 4:30 into the period. After a finding a loose puck near his bench, he followed up his original shot by potting a rebound five hole on Andersen.

Shortly after, questions were raised in the Maple Leafs’ crease. During a TV timeout midway through the period, Andersen gingerly skated to the Leafs bench, signaled a trainer and left the game through the tunnel. The seriousness of Andersen’s injury is not yet known; however, it is being described as an upper body injury. Curtis McElhinney replaced the injured starter in the Maple Leafs goal. He stopped 13-of-15 shots he faced in relief.

During the first period, a battle in front of Andersen could have potentially led to the injury. Stars forward Alexander Radulov was battling for a lose puck in front. In the battle, Leafs defender Roman Polak pushed the sprawling Radulov on top of his goaltender. Radulov landed firmly on Andersen’s left arm, possibly making contact with the goaltender’s head.

Curtis McElhinney played well in relief of Andersen. After a second period that was primarily dominated by the Stars, the Leafs’ backup gave up only one goal. Remi Elie beat McElhinney with just more than six minutes remaining in the period on a one-timer snipe. The goal was assisted by Nick Shore and Norris Trophy favorite John Klingberg.

Heading into the third period down 4-2 with their star goalie injured, the Leafs needed a hero. James Van Riemsyk stepped up big time, building on his first period goal by scoring two more to complete the hat trick. Van Riemsdyk lifted a rebound over Lehtonen just more than five minutes into the frame. The assists came to Tyler Bozak and Travis Dermott.

With Radulov in the box for hooking, Van Riemsyk capped off his impressive night by recording the hat at 10:43 of the period. After finding some open space in front of the goal, Van Riemsdyk was fed with a gorgeous pass from Mitch Marner. He confidently deflected the pass into an empty net for the third hat trick of his career.

Dallas would regain the lead late in the third on a Brett Ritchie one-timer that was assisted by both Benn and Seguin. With less then a minute left on the clock and the goaltender pulled, the Leafs looked down and out.

With just 16 seconds remaining in the game, Patrick Marleau deflected a Mitch Marner shot five hole through a screened Kari Lehtonen. As the Leafs celebrated the late goal, the Dallas Stars’ playoff hopes took a blow. Up by two heading into the third period, the Stars had given up the lead and the game was heading to overtime.

After an entertaining overtime that saw both teams trade chances, the game was headed to a shootout. Shooting first for the Leafs was Tyler Bozak. Coming in with speed, Bozak gradually applied his breaks and sniped one over the Stars goalies blocker. After Seguin missed his chance, van Riemsdyk and Alexander Radulov also traded missed chances. This led to Mitch Marner with a chance to end the game for the Maple Leafs in the third round of the shootout. He approached Lehtonen with speed, pulling the puck to the goalies right and placing a beautiful shot over the goalies pad and under his glove.

The Leafs had overcome both one- and two-goal deficits in the third to beat a respectable team in Dallas. As they won the game, the price they paid was losing their star goalie, Andersen.

Andersen is currently tied for first in the NHL with 58 games played. He sits fourth in wins with 33, is among the league’s best in both save percentage and goals against average and has the most total saves in the NHL, with 1796. Andersen compares to the best goalies in the league in all major statistics, and along with Auston Mathews, is the backbone of the young franchise moving forward.

The goalie of the future for the Maple Leafs also has a chance at making history, as Andersen is currently only four wins shy of the franchise record held by Ed Belfour and Andrew Raycroft at 37.

Next: 30 best NHL goaltenders of all time

Curtis McElhinney, the Leafs’ backup, has been solid trough a small workload, and frequently gives the team a chance to win. With the Maple Leafs’ playoff chances everything but guaranteed, look for Toronto to let their starting goaltender take a few games to fully recover before returning to action. The Danish goaltender will be a massive part of the team if they plan on making a deep playoff run.