Goalie rotation got Hurricanes this far. Why Pyotr Kochetkov is right choice for Game 5
There are segments of the hockey world that would be aghast at the mere inclination to change a lineup after winning an elimination game. Don’t change your lines, your goalie, your stick or your underwear.
But not only is going to Pyotr Kochetkov the smart move for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5, their season once again on the line Monday night at the New York Rangers, it’s not one that would give anyone on this particular roster or around the team a second of pause.
The Hurricanes cruised down the stretch alternating between Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen, and it’s time to go that route again now.
Kochetkov played well enough to win Game 3, a loss that wouldn’t even have gotten to overtime were it not for his sneak-attack poke-check on Chris Kreider after Andrei Svechnikov’s extra-skater goal to tie the score late.
Andersen looked better to start Game 4 than he did in Game 2, after getting what has become his usual game off, but his first period was better than his second and his second was better than his third, which included Alex Lafreniere’s nightmare goal off Andersen’s back to tie the score 3-3.
To his credit, Andersen was waiting at his locker when the doors opened to the media afterward, just as Jordan Staal had been after Game 3, and he played well enough to give the Hurricanes a chance to win that they seized, but there was nothing in Andersen’s performance that demanded he start Game 5.
The Hurricanes’ process won’t change, that much is for sure. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour and goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder converse before each game, playoffs or otherwise, and figure it out. That led them to start Andersen in all five games of the Islanders series, even though he hadn’t started more than two games in a row all season, and it led them to go to Kochetkov in Game 3.
“Just like we have all along,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Talk to Pauly. See how the goalies feel. Make a decision.”
In this case, the immediate decision is clear now.
While the players have to approach their attempt to scale the climb from 3-0 down game by game, period by period, shift by shift, the coaching staff still has to figure out how to win three more games in six days. And the best way to do that isn’t by running Andersen into the ground. The Hurricanes got away with it against the Islanders, but with the thin margins in this series — three more one-goal games — there are no shortcuts.
(Especially if the rest of the series is officiated the way Game 4 was, like the pseudo-conference final this really is, not like the Game 2 clown show that was handled like a neutral-site preseason game between lineups full of ECHL cannon fodder. That ended up playing into the Rangers’ hands, but it could have gone either way, and a series of this caliber deserves to be decided primarily at five-on-five.)
Brind’Amour pushed back on any notion of planning ahead — “Definitely not” — but the big picture cannot be ignored. Going to Kochetkov in Game 5 helps keep Andersen fresh for Game 6, especially with the extra day off between games. And then make a decision on Game 7 based on how each plays and how Andersen feels. You’d default to Andersen, obviously, but you have to keep every option open.
“It doesn’t really matter which guy’s in there,” Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook said. “We have full faith in whichever one is between the pipes and you look at ‘Kooch,’ his Game 3 was pretty incredible and Freddie made some big stops last night, big ones at key moments. I feel like that’s kind of what you need in those games.”
The Hurricanes needed both goalies to get this far and if they’re going to pull off a comeback that’s only happened four times in NHL history, they’ll need both goalies to do that, too.
Never miss a Luke DeCock column. Sign up at tinyurl.com/lukeslatest to have them delivered directly to your email inbox as soon as they post.
Luke DeCock’s Latest: Never miss a column on the Canes, ACC or other Triangle sports
