Hurricanes rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov will start Game 3 against the Boston Bruins
It’s been a month of firsts for Hurricanes rookie goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov.
He’s had his first NHL call-up, made his first NHL regular-season relief appearance, and his first NHL start. He earned his first NHL win, and made his first NHL playoff appearance.
Friday, he’ll add another first to the list: Kochetkov is the Canes’ starter for Game 3 against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Antti Raanta, who started and won Game 1, was hurt in a collision with the Bruins’ David Pastrnak in the first period of Game 2. At the time, the score was 0-0, and the Bruins were getting the better of play.
Kochetkov entered the game off the bench, made 30 saves on 32 shots, and the Canes won Game 2, 5-2.
If Jeremy Swayman starts for Boston — indications in their morning skate Friday were that he would —all four goalies in the series will have made their first NHL playoff starts in the first three games.
That’s believed to be a first in NHL history. The last time three goalies made their first postseason start in the same playoff series was 2006, when the Hurricanes faced the Montreal Canadiens and Cam Ward, Martin Gerber and Cristobal Huet all made their first career starts in the first round.
Boston makes lineup changes
The Bruins made only a defensive pairings adjustment between Games 1 and 2, but Boston will look a bit different to the Hurricanes for Game 3.
Hampus Lindholm will not be ready to return to the lineup after being knocked out of Game 2 by a thunderous Andrei Svechnikov hit. His spot on the blue line is filled by Mike Reilly, who will play alongside Charlie McAvoy, while Matt Grzelcyk returns to Brandon Carlo’s side.
Additionally, after Linus Ullmark lost Games 1 and 2 as the starting goalie, the Bruins will turn to rookie goalie Swayman to start Game 3 at home. Gritty forward Chris Wagner replaced Trent Frederic in the bottom 6 forwards, with Tomas Nosek moving from the fourth line to the third alongside Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith. Wagner slots in alongside Curtis Lazar and Nick Foligno.
Canes sticking with same lineup
Other than Kochetkov starting, the Canes may not make any other changes in the lineup from the first two games. There is one game change they’d like to make, forward Nino Niederreiter said Friday.
“I think the biggest thing for us is coming out on time,” he said after the pregame skate at TD Garden. “I feel like Boston did a great job coming out right out of the gate and we kind of weathered the storm the first two games and kind of found the game out of that. That’s going to be crucial tonight, to come out on the right foot.”
Game 1 was scoreless after the first period but the Bruins controlled the first 10 or more minutes and had 14 shots in the first. In Game 2, the Canes had two penalties to kill in the first 7:28 -- the first to Niederrreiter for tripping at 3:17 -- before taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Jesper Fast and Sebastian Aho in the final seven minutes of the period.
Bruins have last change at home
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour had the advantage of the last change in the two games at PNC Arena. It’s Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy’s turn now for two games.
“That’s OK, that’s part of it,” Brind’Amour said Friday. “We’re not going to win unless we have 20 guys playing well.”
Brind’Amour often matched Jordan Staal’s line and defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce against the Patrice Bergeron line. But Cassidy has reloaded the so-called “Perfection Line” with David Pastrnak rejoining Bergeron and Brad Marchand, and should be looking for better matchups for that line with the last change.
Niederreiter said he expects that to happen, adding, “But at the end of the day you’ve got to play against whoever is out there. If we play against Bergeron, they’re tough and tough to contain and I think we did a fairly good job. But overall they’re tough to stop.”
Pastrnak defended his collision with Raanta after the Bruins’ morning skate at their practice rink Friday., saying anyone who thought he was trying to run the goalie “doesn’t know hockey,” according to the Boston Herald. Brind’Amour said after Wednesday’s game that he thought it “can’t get any more obvious” that the Bruins are targeting the Hurricanes’ goalies.
Staying on the run
One amusing sight Friday was seeing Svechnikov, Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Jesperi Kotkaniemi sprinting down a back hallway of TD Garden after the skate, not wanting to be late for the team bus back to the hotel.
Ah, young legs. Brind’Amour took his time. The bus isn’t leaving without the head coach.
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Hurricanes rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov will start Game 3 against the Boston Bruins."
