Pyotr Kochetkov returns to Hurricanes, posts shutout as Carolina downs Philadelphia

The Carolina Hurricanes skated with a slightly different lineup Thursday, necessitated by a couple of injuries sustained in Montreal earlier in the week.

In a return home to the friendly confines of PNC Arena, though, it hardly mattered.

Pyotr Kochetkov, who made news earlier this week after not only scoring a goal in an AHL game but also fighting in consecutive games, was the emergency call-up starter for the Canes. He performed admirably, stopping 19 shots to help lead Carolina to a 1-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was his fourth NHL shutout.

“He made a couple of really great saves, and that was the difference in the game,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Their goalie played really well, and he had to match it.”

According to Stathead, Kochetkov is the 25th goaltender in NHL history to register four or more shutouts through his first 23 career games, and just the ninth to accomplish the feat since 2000-01.

“He’s a confident kid, that’s really been his M.O. from Day 1,” Brind’Amour said.

The Flyers were also without a key player or two Thursday, most notably former Hurricane Tony DeAngelo, who was suspended for two games this week after spearing Tampa Bay veteran Corey Perry below the belt during a scrum in front of the net.

It’s hard to say if DeAngelo’s absence impacted the game much. The Canes, starting Kochetkov and without regular third-pairing defender Jalen Chatfield, still put up 29 shots against the Flyers while allowing just 19 in the win, playing their typical lockdown defensive game against a Philadelphia team struggling to find its way late in the season.

It didn’t take long for the Canes to find the scoreboard Thursday. Andrei Svechnikov, who seems to have regained his scoring touch of late, fired the puck into the cage just 2:09 into the game. Martin Necas and the equally hot Brent Burns earned assists on Svechnikov’s goal.

Despite a lopsided shot total for the rest of the period and through the second, though, the Canes couldn’t find another goal.

“We had a lot of opportunities, they just blocked a lot of shots,” Brind’Amour said. “We were in good position, we didn’t really have to push it too much. I think we tried to a little bit at times earlier in the game, but that wasn’t really what we needed to do.”

Felix Sandstrom stopped the rest of the pucks he saw to keep Philadelphia in the game to the very end.

This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 9:30 PM.