Hurricanes Activate Starting Goalie from IR

After multiple months away, the Carolina Hurricanes will soon see the return of their star goalie.

Oct 18, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) takes the ice to warm up against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Carolina Hurricanes have been without starting goalie Frederik Andersen since the first few weeks of the 2024-25 season. A knee injury and eventual surgery kept the star Hurricanes’ netminder on the shelf for 38 games.

After missing nearly half of the season, the Hurricanes have activated Andersen from injured reserve as he appears ready to return to game action. Regardless of when Andersen hits the ice again, it will be his 500th career appearance in the NHL.

Welcome back, Freddie 🙌

The #Canes have activated goaltender Frederik Andersen from Injured Reserve and assigned goaltender Dustin Tokarski to the @Chicago_Wolves.

Details » https://t.co/aF14fNJntQ pic.twitter.com/RChw7G0N2V

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) January 17, 2025

Just a game shy of a big milestone, Andersen holds a career record of 298-128-52, just two wins back of another significant marker.

Andersen has spent time with the Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, and Toronto Maple Leafs over the course of his 12-year NHL career. He wasn’t able to prove much with only four games played this season, but at 35 years old, he appeared to still be at the top of his game.

Before being taken out of the lineup, Andersen played four games and held a 3-1-0 record with a .941 save percentage and 1.48 goals against average.

Injuries have played a massive role in Andersen’s career, especially in recent years. He was held to just 16 games last season, but still put up a 13-2-0 record. In 2022-23, he played in 34 games, with a 21-11-1 record.

In Andersen’s absence, the Hurricanes had their own issues between the pipes. Other netminder suffered injuries and they’ve seen five different goalies appear in at least one game for them this year.

Despite the revolving door of goalies, the Hurricanes are still a top team in the Metropolitan Division. They have a 26-16-3 record for 55 standings points.

Pytor Kochetkov took over as the go-to starter in Andersen’s absence with a 19-6-2 record, .901 save percentage, and 2.54 goals against average.

The Hurricanes next game comes at home against the Vegas Golden Knights, and it is yet to be seen if Andersen will make his 500th career appearance.

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