Andersen kept a clean sheet in Carolina's 3-0 win and reduction to 1-3 in matches. The Dane spiked the box on away ground in Fort Lauderdale when it mattered most – and took a nice revenge after the difficulties he had previously experienced in the match series.
Andersen played the entire first match and was substituted out before the third period in the second.
During the five periods, he stopped only 27 of 36 and had to step aside completely in the third match and leave it to Pyotr Kochetkov. But Andersen took the benching in the best way.
Looked safe
None of Florida's 20 shots tonight slipped past him.
He looked safe, but he always does. He has been good all season. He got a few days off and it felt right to throw him in again, says Carolina's coach Rod Brind'.
It was the fifth time in his career Andersen kept a clean sheet in a playoff match.
We wanted to leave what was behind us and play our best match against them. I love playing this type of match, says Andersen according to AP.
The 35-year-old Dane played a season (2011-2012) for Frölunda before moving to North America. He has previously played for Anaheim and Toronto. He came to Carolina in 2021.
Broke sad streak
Stankoven scored the opener in the middle of the second period. When Florida played six against five at the end of the match, Finnish Sebastian Aho and Canadian Jordan Staal scored 2-0 and 3-0 in an empty net.
The win was Carolina's first in a semifinal after 15 straight losses.
Florida lacked the injured trio Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer. It is unclear if any of them can play the fifth match on Thursday night.
