Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov, right, celebrates his goal with Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk (19) as Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) looks on during the third period of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) watches the puck from between Florida Panthers’ A.J. Greer (10) an Matthew Tkachuk (19) during the third period of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov (16) tips the puck past Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) for a goal during the third period of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
Hurricanes switch goalies for Game 3, starting Kochetkov over Andersen against Panthers
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 The Carolina Hurricanes switched goalies for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, starting Pyotr Kochetkov in net against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov, right, celebrates his goal with Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk (19) as Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) looks on during the third period of Game 2 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 The Carolina Hurricanes switched goalies for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, starting Pyotr Kochetkov in net against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Kochetkov played the third period of Game 2, stopping four of the five shots he faced in Carolina’s 5-0 loss. The Hurricanes were outscored 10-2 in the first two games of the series, with Frederik Andersen giving up nine goals on just 36 shots.
鈥淛ust change the vibe a little bit,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 blame Freddie on any of the goals that went in. Obviously, save percentage is not great, if you look at that. We do need some saves, but I can鈥檛 blame him on any. All the goals have been great shots or plays by them.鈥
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Kochetkov has started just over half of Carolina鈥檚 games over the last two seasons, going a combined 50-29-7 with a 2.48 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.
The Hurricanes took him with a second-round pick in the 2019 draft and he made his NHL debut for the club late in the 2021-22 season.
Saturday鈥檚 game against Florida is his 10th playoff appearance and fourth postseason start.
鈥滺e’s a kid that we鈥檝e had in there all year,” Brind’Amour said. “And he played well for us, so that鈥檚 why.鈥
Kochetkov went 2-0-0 in two previous starts against Florida, both in the regular season. He had a 45-save shutout against the Panthers on Feb. 22, 2024, and stopped 25 of 26 shots in a 3-1 win in Sunrise on Jan. 2.
He entered Saturday 1-0 in this year鈥檚 playoffs in three appearances, with a 2.57 GAA and .891 save percentage.
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