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The Carolina Hurricanes are bringing back a veteran goaltender. Goalie Frederik Andersen is activated from injured reserve for the club, per NHL.com. The Hurricanes made the move ahead of a game Friday against the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Andersen has not played since October, due to an injury. The 35-year-old goaltender had ankle surgery in November, and that has kept him off the team roster until now. He backed up goalie Pyotr Kochetkov on Friday, and Carolina picked up a 3-2 win.
“I've never been through this exact surgery,” Andersen said, per the outlet. “But (it was) a good indication right away that the surgeon liked what was going on, and I just tried to push it as quick as I could without any real setbacks. Obviously, it's not going to be linear, but I was really happy with the process.”
Andersen's last appearance was in an October contest against the Seattle Kraken. In that game, Andersen made 18 saves and Carolina won the game 4-1.
The Hurricanes are now 27-16-3 after knocking off the Knights.
Frederik Andersen has held his own in goal for the Hurricanes
Andersen is 3-1 this season in four game appearances. He has a .941 save percentage for the Hurricanes, who have a 5-3-2 record in their last 10 games. Carolina is currently third in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division.
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour is hopeful Andersen can keep up that production, now that he's back with the club.
“You're always worried about the rust factor,” Brind'Amour said. “He hasn't played in a long time. It's good to see him out there in a regular game-kind of mode. We can certainly use him.”
Andersen struggled with a blood-clotting issue last season that kept him out of the lineup for several weeks. This year, Carolina is using goaltender Kochetkov, to shore up the position. The goalie has a 17-9-2 record, with a 2.52 goals allowed average.
Carolina next plays the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. Chicago enters the game carrying a 14-28-3 mark.
