RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes are expecting to be without goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov for the remainder of the season, Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour revealed on Monday.
The 26-year-old was in line to start the evening’s game against the New York Rangers; however, in a surprising turn of events, he was placed on injured reserve during the afternoon hours.
When Brind’Amour was asked about the situation at his pre-game media availability, the bench boss shared the tough details.
“It’s (the injury) he’s been dealing with all year. He’s decided to have surgery, so he’s probably going to be out for the year,” Brind’Amour said. “He didn’t feel right all year. He’s been playing great; that’s the hard part. He was kind of fighting through it, but doesn’t want to continue that way, so we’ll get it fixed and go from there.”
Kochetkov suffered the initial injury in early October, following the team’s final preseason game. Missing all of October before debuting at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 4, the 2019 second-round draft pick battled it out for eight games before landing on the season-ending decision.
Making his 6-2 record during the stretch all the more impressive, the absence leaves Carolina with Brandon Bussi and Frederik Andersen moving forward.
Bussi, who took advantage of the opportunity during Kochetkov’s first stint on the shelf, has played his way both into league history and to the top of one of the league’s leaderboards. With a record of 12-1-1 through his first 14 NHL appearances, he became the first goalie in NHL history to win 10 of his first 11 games.
Entering Monday’s play, his 2.10 goals against average ranks the best out of all 59 goaltenders who have played at least 12 games. Not bad for a 27-year-old who was claimed off waivers on Oct. 5.
Andersen has struggled as of late, but will now have a more sizable opportunity to get his game back to the form that made him one of just 42 goalies in NHL history to win 300 games. Playing the role of third fiddle with Bussi and Kochetkov both thriving, Andersen is 0-5-2 in his last seven appearances.
While there’s undoubtedly been some tough luck and unfortunate bounces during the stretch, Brind’Amour remains confident in the situation.
“We’re going to need him. The luxury we had is no longer a luxury anymore,” the head coach continued today. “We had three guys to rely on. Now, it’s pretty clear, we’ve got these two guys, and they’ve got to figure it out. That’s kind of our model all year. No matter who is going in, you’ve got to figure it out.”
