In 12 games this season, now equal numbers on either side of his long layoff, Andersen is 10-1 with a goals-against average under 2.15 and a save percentage of .924.

“I’m not surprised,” Brind’Amour said. “I didn’t know what to expect, you know? We know he’s a great goalie, when you’ve been out that long I don’t care what position you play there’s got to be some rust factor, but he certainly doesn’t look like there’s any of that.”

Andersen moved well in the opening period Sunday, stopping everything that came his way in a relatively uneventful frame.

The opening minutes of the second were more dramatic. Andersen twice played the puck into Toronto players on his own, resulting in a pair of great scoring opportunities for the Leafs. With a pair of acrobatic saves, Andersen redeemed himself and kept his former team off the board.

Later in the period, Andersen made a snappy glove save on a late Leafs power play, and another as the second-period horn sounded to preserve the Canes’ two-goal cushion.

Andersen then stared down a 2-on-0 five minutes into the third period, and turned that aside as well, sending PNC Arena into a familiar chorus of “Fred-die, Fred-die!”

In the third, after allowing a goal, Andersen shut the door amid the Leafs’ last-minute flurry with the goalie pulled to earn the win.

They had the power

Strength met strength Sunday, with the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs power plays sporting equally impressive season success rates.

Prior to Sunday’s game, the Hurricanes had the third-best power play in the NHL, with the team’s units scoring at a 26.4 percent clip. Toronto, with its aforementioned high-powered top forwards zipping around with extra space on the ice, was fourth in the NHL at 26.1 percent.

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