Why The Carolina Hurricanes' Goalie Duo Could Still Harm Their Cup Chances

The Carolina Hurricanes might have only had Mikko Rantanen for just over a month, but without him and Martin Necas, they’re firing on all pistons.

Drama enveloped the Hurricanes at the March 7 NHL trade deadline regarding their failure in re-signing Rantanen after trading Necas in a package for him in late January. Despite that, the team went 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and won its last seven, which helps its Stanley Cup hopes.

If Carolina can maintain its dynamic play for the next month, the team will head into the playoffs as a threat with home-ice advantage, likely against the third seed in the Metropolitan Division – either the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers or Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Hurricanes look like they could still be a Stanley Cup contender. But there are still some areas of potential concern when the playoffs arrive. Their 18.1-percent power-play efficiency, which ranks 26th in the NHL, is one of them, but the bigger question mark is goaltending.

First thing’s first: the Hurricanes’ goaltending is nowhere near abysmal. Veteran netminder Frederik Andersen has a 2.16 goals-against average and .912 save percentage this season, while youngster Pyotr Kochetkov has a 2.37 GAA and a .908 SP this year. Those are solid numbers for the platoon.

Last season, Andersen had a 1.84 GAA and a .932 SP in 16 games, and Kochetkov had a .911 SP and a 2.33 GAA in 40 games – slightly better than this year. But those strong numbers did not translate into reliable goaltending in the post-season. Last playoffs, Andersen’s numbers dropped to a .895 SP and a 2.62 GAA in 10 starts. Kochetkov had a .880 SP after allowing three goals on 25 shots against the Rangers in last year’s second round. In six career playoff appearances, he’s put up a subpar .863 SP and a 4.01 GAA.

Andersen’s injury history is a bigger question mark. He already missed a sizable chunk of time this season due to knee surgery, appearing in only 14 games. He made 16 appearances last year after missing most of that campaign due to a deep-vein thrombosis diagnosis, which was unlucky. But he also had multiple injuries in 2022-23 that limited him to 34 games, and he missed the 2022 playoffs with a torn MCL.

There’s a clear cause for concern that Andersen might not be available to be counted on when the Hurricanes need him the most. When Kochetkov was injured at the same time as Andersen this season, Carolina had to turn to journeymen Dustin Tokarski and Spencer Martin. If a similar situation happens in the post-season, then a lack of reliability in net could sink the squad.

Things can always change for the better, of course. Both Carolina goalies are thriving this month: Andersen has a .932 SP and a 1.76 GAA in four games, while Kochetkov has a 0.99 GAA and a .960 SP in four appearances. Clearly, Carolina’s goalies are riding high with the rest of their teammates.

But from our standpoint, the Hurricanes’ netminding will be a nagging concern until their goalies prove otherwise. Andersen hasn’t guided his team beyond the second round of the playoffs since the 2014-15 campaign as a member of the Anaheim Ducks. And Kochetkov simply doesn’t have enough post-season experience to say with certainty how he will perform when games matter most. There’s room for reasonable doubt here.

We knew going into the season that Carolina had the overall depth to be one of the NHL’s best squads. But like all teams, the Hurricanes aren’t perfect. And if they do get flushed out of the first or second round of this year’s playoffs due to their goaltending, no one can say they didn’t see it coming.

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