Apr 14, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) and forward Stefan Noesen (23) celebrate after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
NHL: Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks
(Raleigh, NC) – As the New York Rangers look to take a commanding lead in their second round series with Carolina they will see a different netminder for Game 3.
The Hurricanes are benching Frederick Andersen in favor of Pyotr Kochetkov.
Andersen had started all seven of the Hurricanes previous playoff games. But head coach Rod Brind’Amour has seen enough after Andersen seemed to struggle controlling rebounds in the Game 2 overtime loss at MSG.
Despite stopping 35 shots, Anderson was clearly outplayed by Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin – which is hardly a surprise.
Looking back to Game 1, Anderson also allowed a relatively soft goal to Artemi Panarin, which could be featured prominently in Brind’Amour’s thinking. Essentially, Carolina is in must-win mode, as they look to avoid facing a 3-games-to-none deficit.
A 40-game starter during the regular season, the 24-year-old Kochetkov is a native of Russia and was drafted by the Hurricanes. He posted a .911 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average this past season. Andersen was hurt most of the season, and there could be some concern he’s wearing down now. Kochetkov has played in five playoff games to date – wining just one – in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs during a first-round series with Boston.
Rangers fans will also recall that Kochetkov played in place of Antti Raanta that year when the Hurricanes were eliminated by the Rangers in a seven game series. Kochetkov played Games 6 and 7 of that series.
