Toronto Maple Leafs: Frederik Andersen’s injury gives Garret Sparks opportunity
In an unexpected turn of events, the Toronto Maple Leafs will turn to Garret Sparks with Frederik Andersen nursing a knee injury and is labelled as day-to-day.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are about to find out whether they made the right choice with Garret Sparks as their backup goalie.
When the team went on the ice for their morning skate ahead of their game against the Los Angeles Kings both Sparks and Frederik Andersen were there and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. It looked like Sparks was going to give Andersen the night off with a tough stretch of games upcoming but apparently, it was more than that.
The Leafs announced a couple of hours before the game that they were calling up Eamon McAdam as Andersen dealing with a knee injury (usually the team would list it as a lower-body injury).
The @MapleLeafs announced today that the club has recalled goaltender Eamon McAdam from the @NLGrowlers (ECHL) on an emergency basis. Frederik Andersen is listed as day-to-day with a knee injury.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) October 15, 2018
It’s unknown whether the issue came up after Saturday’s win over the Washington Capitals or during the morning skate but it looks like the Leafs will be without their starter for the next little bit.
More from Toronto Maple Leafs
- Maple Leafs Rumours: Half of NHL teams interested in Ilya Mikheyev
- Toronto Maple Leafs: How to address the goaltender position
- Leafs reward Timothy Liljegren with extension after breakout season
- Maple Leafs: Jack Campbell situation becoming increasingly uncertain
- Jason Spezza retires, joins Toronto Maple Leafs front office
Now the attention will be on Sparks depending on how long Andersen will be out for and this is the exact situation he needs to be ready for. Considering his experience as a starter there shouldn’t be an issue with him carrying the heavier workload but whether he can give the Leafs the goaltending they’ll need is another story.
Everyone is well aware of the outing he had against the Chicago Blackhawks allowing six goals but it was his first start of the season in his hometown against a high-powered offence. At the same time, the Leafs didn’t exactly have the best effort defensively but made up for it with their goalscoring.
Over his next few starts, Sparks will need to show that he can keep the Leafs in a game when they’re not at their best or at least not cost them a game, I mean that’s the expectation.
So for the people who weren’t thrilled with the decision to keep Sparks over Curtis McElhinney, they’re about to find out whether they were right or wrong.
Next. Early look at the Leafs overall performance. dark
What do you think about the Andersen news? Do the Leafs have anything to worry about? Let us know in the comments below.