Carolina is one of the rare teams choosing to carry three goaltenders this season and that depth is going to come in handy early on. The team announced that Pyotr Kochetkov will be out for at least a week due to a lower-body injury, noting that while it’s not a serious injury, the recovery timeline is longer than head coach Rod Brind’Amour was hoping for.
The timeline of at least a week suggests that Carolina intends to place him on injured reserve. That designation means that a player must be out for at least a week. But with a full 23-player roster, putting Kochetkov on IR would allow the Hurricanes to bring someone up from the minors, though likely not a goalie with Brandon Bussi already with the team after a late-camp waiver claim.
Kochetkov has been the de facto starter the last two seasons, at times on merit and others with Frederik Andersen being on the shelf. Two years ago, it looked like the 26-year-old had taken a big step forward when he posted a 2.33 GAA and a .911 SV% in 42 outings.
However, things didn’t go quite as well last season. While he made a career-high 47 starts, his numbers weren’t as strong, checking in at 2.60 GAA and a .897 SV% while he struggled in the playoffs, playing to a 3.60 GAA and .855 SV% in just four outings, two of those coming in relief. In between, he dealt with a concussion and noted after the season that he had been playing through an injury.
With Kochetkov on the shelf, Andersen now becomes the clear-cut starter, a role that he hasn’t been able to hold onto for extended stretches in recent years due to his own injuries. Over the last three seasons, he hasn’t made more than 33 starts in a single one so if Kochetkov’s absence winds up being more longer-term, Andersen will be tested much more than he has been in recent years while Bussi could get a chance to make his NHL debut as well.