After a difficult Western Canada road trip, the Carolina Hurricanes have been playing much better. Since their 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 12, the Hurricanes are 3-0-2 in their last five games and sit in the first wild-card spot with a 17-12-3 record for 37 points after 32 games this season.
What helped Carolina overcome their struggle in Western Canada was simplifying their games. They went 0-4-0 in that swing while being outscored 14-7. The team as a whole hung their goaltenders out to dry, but the goalies also had a tough time keeping the pucks out of the net. Finally, a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 9 led to a players-only meeting.
Then Antti Raanta was placed on waivers after giving up six goals in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Dec. 15 and was reassigned to the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) the next day. Pyotr Kochetkov stepped up for the Hurricanes when they needed it most from their goaltenders.
All Hail Pyotr Kochetkov
This season, the 24-year-old Russian netminder has a 7-6-2 record with a 2.65 goals-against average (GAA) and a .895 save percentage (SV%) in 16 games. Kochetkov has been phenomenal in his last four starts, especially, with a 3-0-1 record and a .946 GAA.
30 games into the season, the Hurricanes were sporting the worst team SV% in the NHL with a sub-.860 figure. As of Dec. 21, they are still last, but their SV% has improved to .875 thanks to Kochetkov. While he did give up three goals in the Hurricanes’ 6-3 win versus the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, Dec. 19, for the most part, Kochetkov stood tall against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. He allowed two of the three goals with under a minute left, but for the first 58 minutes or so, he could not be figured out. It was an impressive performance from the third-year netminder who has played fewer than 50 NHL games.
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In his time with the Hurricanes, Kochetkov has a 22-13-7 record, 2.51 GAA, and a .904 SV% in 43 games. He’s now just five wins from tying his career-high set in the 2022-23 season, and he is on track to beat that sometime in early January.
Recent reports have suggested that Frederik Andersen could join the team in the next month. However, management might want to ease him back into the lineup as he has been recovering from a blood clotting issue since October. Andersen has a 4-0-1 record in six…
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