Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen will be undergoing knee surgery and will be out of the game for about 8 to 12 weeks. This news was announced by the Hurricanes on Thursday, with the surgery scheduled for Friday. This comes as a disappointment for the team as they were initially hoping for Andersen to only be out week-to-week. However, the injury turned out to be more serious than anticipated.
Andersen last played on October 26th in a game against the Seattle Kraken, where he made 18 saves and helped secure a 4-1 victory for the Hurricanes. In the four games he played this season, he had an impressive record of 3-1-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour clarified that Andersen’s current injury is unrelated to the blood-clotting condition that kept him off the ice for a significant portion of last season. To fill in for Andersen, the Hurricanes have called up Spencer Martin from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves to serve as a backup to goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov.
Kochetkov, who is 25 years old, is now expected to take on the majority of the goaltending responsibilities in Andersen’s absence. The team faced the Vancouver Canucks in a recent game, where they secured a 4-3 overtime win with Kochetkov in the net.
Despite Andersen’s absence, the Hurricanes have been performing well, with a recent win against the Philadelphia Flyers. They are set to play against the New Jersey Devils in the midst of a three-game road trip. The team will need to adjust to Andersen’s absence and work together to maintain their winning streak during this challenging time.