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Goalie nods: Andersen goes against Canadiens, looks to continue terrific season

Toronto Maple Leafs v New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 06: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs makes the second period save on Miles Wood #44 of the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on January 6, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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The NHL season is just about at its halfway point and the Toronto Maple Leafs, thanks to a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, are hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night in a game where both teams are holding playoff positions. It’s not something that has happened much over the past few years and it should create quite an atmosphere in Toronto.

The Maple Leafs were able to win on Friday thanks in part to another strong outing from goaltender Frederik Andersen as he stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced to continue his recent stretch of great play and make his slow start to the season a distant memory.

He will be back in net on Saturday. The Canadiens will counter with Carey Price.

Hey may not get the headlines that the Maple Leafs’ rookie class is currently getting, but Andersen has been a bit part of the team’s story this season as it fights for a playoff spot. Acquired in an offseason trade with the Anaheim Ducks, Andersen had a miserable start to the season that saw him give up 22 goals in his first five starts, including an ugly seven-goal effort the Tampa Bay Lightning. Since then, however, he has not only been a completely different goalie but one of the very best in the NHL with a .931 save percentage since that mid-October game against Tampa Bay. Overall his .920 save percentage is among the top-10 in the entire league.

With Saturday’s start he will have now started 33 of the Maple Leafs’ 39 games this season. That puts him on track to start 69 games this season which would shatter his previous career high (54 during the 2014-15 season).

The Maple Leafs have earned at least a point in 15 of his previous 19 starts.

Elsewhere...

-- In the afternoon games Michal Neuvirth made his return for the Flyers against Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning, while Robin Lehner and Connor Hellebuyck faced off for the Sabres and Jets.

-- Darcy Kuemper will be giving Devan Dubnyk a day off for the Minnesota Wild when they take on the Los Angeles Kings. No word yet form the Kings but look for Peter Budaj.

-- The Devils and Oilers face off for the first time since the big Taylor Hall-Adam Larsson trade from over the summer. Cam Talbot, as he has done for all but four games this season, goes for the Oilers. Cory Schneider started for New Jersey on Friday but was pulled after giving up two goals on five shots in the first 14 minutes.

-- In Ottawa it will be Mike Condon going for the Ottawa Senators against Braden Holtby. Holtby has allowed more than two goals just twice in his past 10 appearances and has a better save percentage this season (.928) than he did a year ago when he won the Vezina Trophy (.922).

-- Huge game in the Atlantic Division when the Florida Panthers host the Boston Bruins. Two points separate the two teams in the standings. It will be James Reimer in net for the Panthers while Tuukka Rask goes for the Bruins.

-- Sergei Bobrovsky gets a much deserved night off as Curtis McElhinney starts for the Columbus Blue Jackets when they try to start a new winning streak against the New York Rangers. The Rangers have not announced their starter yet.

-- No word yet on the starters for the Islanders and Coyotes. Both teams played on Friday.

-- In St. Louis it will be Carter Hutton vs. Kari Lehtonen when the Blues host the Dallas Stars.

-- The Vancouver Canucks look to extend their winning streak to seven games with Jacob Markstrom in net when they take on the Calgary Flames. The Flames will counter with Chad Johnson. After a terrific start to the season that saw him take over the starting job Johnson’s play has started to cool off considerably over the past month, recording only a .905 save percentage in December. He tries to snap a personal four-game losing streak on Saturday.

-- Jared Coreau gets another start for the Red Wings when they visit the San Jose Sharks. Martin Jones goes for San Jose. Coreau has a 3-1-1 record in five starts this season and is coming off of a 34-save shutout against the Los Angeles Kings earlier this week.