Hurricanes goalie Raanta injured in collision with Bruins’ Pastrnak, leaves Game 2
The Hurricanes’ goaltending woes are getting deeper before they’re getting better, though Antti Raanta may have escaped a more serious injury after a scary collision in Game 2 of the Canes’ best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
Raanta left the game with 12:02 to go in the first period after Boston’s David Pastrnak collided with him during a Bruins power play. Raanta was trying to clear the puck and as Pastrnak tried to dodge it he crashed into Raanta’s head, leaving him bleeding from the mouth.
After the game — a 5-2 Hurricanes win — Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour was unsure of the extent of Raanta’s injury.
“I’ll know more in a little while,” Brind’Amour said. “Obviously he didn’t come back. That’s not a good sign. But he was in good spirits after the game. I think tomorrow will tell.”
Brind’Amour added that Raanta is not in concussion protocol.
Teammate Andrei Svechnikov had a more positive take on the netminder.
“I saw him. I think he’s good,” Svechnikov said. “I didn’t talk with him but I saw him. He looked good.”
Officials assessed Pastrnak a minor penalty, and rookie Pyotr Kochetkov — who won all three of his late regular-season appearances — made his postseason debut.
In support of Kochetkov, the Hurricanes scored two quick goals — at 13:03 and 15:30 of the period — to give him some breathing room.
And he needed it. After the Canes extended the lead to 3-0 and then 4-1, the Bruins scored later in the third to pull within two, and skated the final 4-plus minutes with six skaters, at one point getting a 6-on-4 after a Canes penalty. But the young Russian stood his ground, with a flurry of pad saves in the final minutes to secure the win.
Kochetkov finished with 30 saves on 32 shots, and the Canes won, 5-2.
Who is Pyotr Kochetkov?
Kochetkov signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Hurricanes in May 2021, and the Canes loaned him to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL for the first part of the season. Kochetkov, 22, posted a 10-10-2 record, 2.23 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts in 23 appearances, finishing tied for sixth in the KHL in save percentage.
After the KHL announced it would move directly to the playoffs following the Olympics, and with his team eliminated, Kochetkov was clear to cross the ocean and begin his career with the Canes’ AHL affiliate in Chicago.
In 15 games with the Wolves, Kochetkov impressed. He went 13-1-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. He’s allowed only 31 goals in 15 games played.
After his call-up at the end of the regular season, he earned three wins in 2 1/2 games played, coming in to relieve Raanta for an injury and then starting the next two games — all Canes wins.
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Hurricanes goalie Raanta injured in collision with Bruins’ Pastrnak, leaves Game 2."
