Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta injured in second period of Game 7; Kochetkov in relief
The Carolina Hurricanes, beaten by the New York Rangers in Game 7 of their playoff series Monday, lost goalie Antti Raanta to an injury that could have ended his playoffs had the Canes advanced.
Raanta was first involved in a second-period play in the crease in which he was cross-checked by the Rangers’ Chris Kreider. There was no call and Raanta then attempted to make a quick move to his right, only to suffer his an apparent lower-body injury with 4:23 left in the period.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the 6-2 loss that Raanta’s injury appeared to be serious enough to have kept him out of games had the Canes won and moved into the Eastern Conference finals.
“No chance,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s going to get checked out (Tuesday) but he would have been out probably. I don’t know for sure but he didn’t look too good walking out of here, or limping out.”
Raanta had to be helped to the bench while rookie Pyotr Kochetkov entered the game. Kochetkov, who played in Game 6 in New York, soon allowed the Rangers’ third goal as New York took a 3-0 lead.
Raanta allowed two goals on 17 shots as the Rangers twice scored on the power play in the first period for a 2-0 lead. He was pulled from Game 6 early in the second period after the Rangers had taken a 3-0 lead.
The Canes earlier Monday lost forward Seth Jarvis to an upper-body injury after a hit by defenseman Jacob Trouba in the first period. As he struggled to get back to the bench, the Canes were whistled for having too many men on the ice and the Rangers scored on the ensuing power play for a 2-0 lead.
“That was a tough blow in this game,” Brind’Amour said.
This story was originally published May 30, 2022 at 10:00 PM.
