Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour updates injuries to Jordan Staal, Frederik Andersen
.JPG "Colorado Avalanche center Nathan McKinnon, obscured, is congratulated by teammates after scoring against Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 16, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)")
The injuries to Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal and goalie Frederik Andersen might not be as severe as first feared.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Staal, who took part Monday in the morning skate at Arizona, was “day to day,” and called that a “positive.” Anderson will be reevaluated in a week, the coach said, to “see where he’s at.”
Staal and Andersen both left the ice in pain Saturday during the third period of the Canes’ 7-4 road loss against the Colorado Avalanche. Brind’Amour said after the game “It doesn’t look good,” leaving a pall over a team that was tied with the New York Rangers for the lead in the Metropolitan Division.
Staal took a hard but clean hit from the Avs’ Cale Makar, knocking him to the ice, and Andersen sustained a lower-body injury that required assistance for him to be taken to the locker room for treatment.
Staal was at morning skate taking some line rushes Monday at Gila River Arena. Andersen was not at the skate, nor was center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who Brind’Amour indicated had been dealing with some minor injuries, also calling his status “day to day.”
Antti Raanta will be the Canes’ starting goalie Monday — facing his former team — and Pyotr Kochetkov will serve as the backup in his first NHL appearance.
Andersen, a Vezina Trophy candidate this season and 35-game winner, left Saturday’s game with 4:31 left in regulation and was not able to put any weight on his left leg. Raanta replaced him for the remainder of the game and could be getting some added work in the final stages of the regular season.
“It doesn’t really matter if it’s your goalie partner or D partner or whatever, it’s always tough to see any of your teammates going down,” Raanta said Monday. “You’re thinking about the other guy and hoping for the best and go in the net and try to get the game done. It’s never easy.”
Kochetkov was recalled Sunday from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on an emergency basis and was at Monday’s skate. The Russian was playing in the KHL but was assigned to the Wolves after the KHL regular season ended, and was named AHL rookie of the month for March after going 7-0-1 — he’s 13-1-1 overall with a 2.09 goals-against average.
Raanta, asked his first impressions on Kochetkov, said, “He looks like a little Russian mix of Bobrovsky and Vasilevskiy” -- that is, Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“That’s a good mix there,” Raanta said. “You wouldn’t know that he’s only 22.”
This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour updates injuries to Jordan Staal, Frederik Andersen."
