Frederik Andersen said he can't make a save in the third period when it's only the first. That mindset applies to the Eastern Conference final, which the Carolina Hurricanes have lost twice in three years.
The oldest goalie remaining in the post-season probably didn't mind an 11-day break between the second and third rounds of the playoffs.
When you're 36 years old, no one complains about an extra couple of weeks off.
Certainly not Frederik Andersen, who, after sweeping the Ottawa Senators in the first round and then sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, used the time off to recharge physically and mentally before the start of the Eastern Conference final against the Montreal Canadiens.
That mental break might have been just as important as the physical one.
This is the fourth time in his career that Andersen has reached the conference final. In the previous three times, he failed to get to the Stanley Cup final.
While most believe the Carolina Hurricanes goalie has the team in front of him to finally get over the hump and win the championship, past experiences suggest he better not look past an underdog Habs team that needed almost twice as many games to get to this point.
"I just think being in the moment, the lessons in my career are you can't get too far ahead of yourself," Andersen told The Hockey News earlier in these playoffs. "You can't make a save in the third when it's only the first period. You've got to see what's in front of you and enjoy it."
In other words, Andersen isn't taking the Habs for granted. Or anything for granted anymore.
At his age, you never know what's waiting around the corner. But in a year when he temporarily lost the net to an up-and-coming rookie before winning it back before the start of the playoffs, it's safe to say that Andersen might not get another chance like this again.
This is his best — and perhaps last — opportunity at winning a Stanley Cup. And based on his play in the post-season, where he has a 1.12 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage, he's not letting the opportunity go to waste.
Andersen, who wasn't very good in the regular season, allowed five goals in four games against the Senators in the first round. In the second round, he allowed five goals in four games against the Flyers.
Now, he'll try to do the same against the Canadiens, knowing full well that if he fails, he could be looking for another job as a pending UFA.
"I haven't really thought too much about that," Andersen said of his future. "I don't know, that's a tough question to ask. There's a lot of veteran players that have been through these things before. I think it's more you continue to build up that experience to help you in these types of situations.
"We've been building toward this type of game and our game plan all year. Hopefully, we're in a good mindset of knowing what we need to do to be successful. We know how we play when we're good."
Indeed, the Hurricanes were the best team in the Eastern Conference standings this season. They showed that against Ottawa and Philadelphia in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Now, they have to try to continue to get the job done in a conference final that has been Carolina's downfall.
Since winning the Cup in 2006, the Hurricanes have reached the conference final four times. Each time, they have lost.
The repeated failures has some suggesting that this could be the last chance for this group, with speculation that coach Rod Brind'Amour and others could be out the door if the Hurricanes once again stub their toe on the final step to the Stanley Cup final.
But Andersen isn't getting too far ahead of himself. If there's anything he's learned over his 13-year career, it's that you can't make a save in the third when it's only the first period.
Nor can you advance to the Stanley Cup final in Game 1 of the conference final.
"I think it's our experience," Andersen told reporters on Wednesday. "We've been through ups and downs in these playoffs in the two series. The way we've been handling shows a good maturity level. That experience is going to play, I hope. We're just excited to be here. We've worked to be here and give it another shot."
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