Maple Leafs' Andersen admits he's playing through injury

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen says the lower-body injury that forced him to miss time earlier in the season is still bothering him despite his return.

"I'm not really where I want to be, obviously," Andersen said Thursday. "I think I'm working towards just getting to as good as possible. But I think everyone goes through a season where you'll have something going on. It's just a matter of how well you can manage it and play through it.

"I don't think anyone's going to have a season where you don't feel a little bit (banged up) here and there, and you try to do the best you can to manage it and play as well as you can."

Andersen was injured in a win over the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 20. He missed the next four games, then returned for a victory over the Edmonton Oilers on March 3.

The veteran netminder's play has noticeably declined since he rejoined the club. Andersen went 7-1-2 with a .911 save percentage in the 10 games before he got hurt - including the contest against Montreal - but he's won only two of six appearances while posting a .887 save percentage since returning.

Toronto has had four days between games this week and will host the Calgary Flames in a back-to-back Friday and Saturday.