A confident Frederik Andersen could spell trouble for the Blackhawks
Although it may be hard to believe for some, hockey is one of the most mentally demanding sports in the world.
Granted, it’s not golf, but confidence and momentum on the ice are equally as important as speed and skill, which is precisely why Ducks’ goalie Frederik Andersen deserves a boat load of credit for his team’s Game 1 victory over the Blackhawks.
Andersen came into this series as a question mark with concerns surrounding his ability to stifle the Blackhawks’ potent offensive attack, but his 32 save performance on Sunday put all of those types of questions to rest.
As far as confidence levels go, there’s one play that sticks out from Sunday’s game that really got the Ducks rolling. It was a one-on-one opportunity for Patrick Kane on Frederik Andersen, Kane faced a wide open net that would have put the Hawks ahead 1-0 just over five minutes into the game, but Andersen had an answer.
Blackhawks' head coach Joel Quenneville said that the save “got some excitement to [Andersen’s] game”, and empowered his team, and himself with an abundance of confidence that they would never relinquish.
This could present an enormous problem for the Blackhawks.
If you’re confident, you’re good. If you’re not, you’re not, and Andersen and the Ducks have proven that they’re ready to go toe-to-toe with the powerhouse of the NHL over the last decade.
“I think everyone in the locker room knows we can beat this team” Andersen told Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun Times after Game 1, “It’s a good feeling that we showed it in Game 1.”
