Season In Review: The Goaltenders

RALEIGH, NC. -Five fresh, new faces defended the net for the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2021-22 season.
After the organization moved on from the trio that guided them through the previous year, there were questions surrounding whether the new personnel would be able to be as successful.
It turns out that the incoming backstops would be one of the team's biggest strengths.

Frederik Andersen, who guided the unit through the regular season by playing in 52 out of 82 games, and Antti Raanta, his trusty partner that was called upon in a big way during postseason play, brought home the Jennings Trophy - awarded to the goaltenders of the team that allowed the fewest goals during the regular season.

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Frederik Andersen

Regular Season Totals:52 Games Played, 35-14-3, 2.17 Goals Against Average, .922 Save Percentage, 4 Shutouts
Playoff Totals:DNP w/ Carolina
Contract Status:Signed through the end of the 2022-23 season
From his first appearance with the team until March 3, Freddie's first season as a Cane was almost too good to be true. He'd been named a league Star of the Week, Star of the Month and appeared to be on his way to a potential Vezina Trophy nomination.
What brought the impressive start to a halt though turned out to be a bump in a game against the Washington Capitals on March 3, causing him to miss a little over a week out of precaution for a potential concussion. He would return to play 13 games before the conclusion of his regular season, but his numbers were not the same during that stint that they had been through the first five months of the campaign.
Then, the aforementioned close of Andersen's campaign came on April 16 against the Colorado Avalanche, when he went down with what would later be revealed as an MCL tear. It was a tough blow for the club to lose their ace in net and what stung just as much was that the netminder was on the cusp of being able to return when the team's season unfortunately came to a close.
For many fans, they're now left with the feeling of, what if? What if Andersen would have been able to stay healthy? Would Carolina have been able to advance past the Rangers?
When all was said and done, he finished with the second-best goals against average (GAA) and the third-best save percentage in the entire NHL. #31 provided many reasons to be optimistic and excited for what the fall holds in terms of his second season, but until then, it will remain plenty of pondering around what could have been.

Pyotr Kochetkov

Regular Season Totals:3 Games Played, 3-0-0, 2.42 Goals Against Average, .902 Save Percentage, 0 Shutouts
Playoff Totals:4 Games Played, 1-2-0, 3.89 Goals Against Average, .869 Save Percentage
Contract Status:Signed through the end of the 2022-23 season
At the onset of training camp, the plan was for Kochetkov to play the season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorad of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He did that, rather successfully too, posting a .926 save percentage (SV%) in 23 games.
Then COVID-19 put an end to his team's season and come February he was without a place to play.
Carolina promptly brought him over to North America and to say the next four months were magical might be an understatement.
The club's 2019 second round selection started by posting a 13-1-1 record with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL), quickly clamoring the fan base to see what he can do at the highest level. Cue the Andersen injury and on April 18 Kochetkov joined the club in Arizona. Five days later Antti Raanta went down and in the home stretch of trying to claim a Metropolitan Division title, Kochetkov was thrust into action. The 22-year-old was able to secure the top spot for the team in the effort, showcasing that the moment wasn't too big for him.
Not only did he come in and win his first game in relief, but he'd go on to win his next start and his next relief appearance, too.
In the playoffs, a similar situation occurred. Raanta went down early in the Boston series and the rookie stepped up in a big way once again. Raanta would only miss one more game, but his season wasn't done just yet. #52 returned to Chicago and split time with Alex Lyon, going 5-1 with a .950 SV% and two shutouts on his way to winning a Calder Cup.
The big question is now what's next for Kochetkov? With Andersen and Raanta both under contract for next year, the most plausible scenario may be him being the number one in Chicago. But has he already proved that he's too good to be there?

Jack LaFontaine

Regular Season Totals:2 Games Played, 0-1-0, 7.20 Goals Against Average, .780 Save Percentage, 0 Shutouts
Playoff Totals:DNP w/ Carolina
Contract Status:Pending Restricted Free Agent
Along similar lines of Kochetkov, Jack LaFontaine was likely not in the Hurricanes' plans in September. But desperate times called for desperate measures and in mid-January when five out of the organization's seven signed goaltenders were either hurt or dealing with COVID-19, the franchise got creative.
Playing at the University of Minnesota,
the team was able to lure their 2016 third round pick during his senior season
and within a span of five days he was in his first NHL game.
On January 13 he entered in relief of Andersen and the next week he made his first career start in New Jersey.
Did LaFontaine meet his own expectations for either of the two appearances? Maybe not, but the circumstances did not do him any favors.
The 24-year-old's contract was only for the duration of the 2021-22 season, so what will transpire next for him remains to be seen.

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Alex Lyon

Regular Season Totals:2 Games Played, 1-0-1, 2.93 Goals Against Average, .908 Save Percentage, 0 Shutouts
Playoff Totals:DNP w/ Carolina
Contract Status:Pending Unrestricted Free Agent
Signed as the insurance piece behind Andersen and Raanta, Lyon wound up making his Canes debut less than a month after the team's regular season began. With two home games on back-to-back nights during the middle of November, Lyon took a spot start when Raanta was dealing with a concussion suffered the week before.
He went on to win the outing, turning away 27 of 29 shots thrown onto him by St. Louis. Raanta was good to go by his next turn in the rotation though, allowing the former Yale standout to return to Chicago.
Lyon went on to serve as Carolina's Taxi Squad goalie when they returned in December, but outside of one more game appearance in January, that would be the extent of Lyon's time in Raleigh. He was fantastic in the AHL, winning the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award for the year - given annually to the netminder(s) of the team with the fewest goals allowed - and eventually, the Calder Cup.

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Antti Raanta

Regular Season Totals:28 Games Played, 15-5-4, 2.45 Goals Against Average, .912 Save Percentage, 2 Shutouts
Playoff Totals:13 Games Played, 6-5-0, 2.26 Goals Against Average, .922 Save Percentage, 1 Shutout
Contract Status:Signed through the end of the 2022-23 season
At the start of the campaign Rod Brind'Amour was very adamant in saying that Andersen and Raanta would be a "1A and 1B" system, both getting equal opportunities.
What perhaps nobody could have accounted for was Andersen starting the season 8-0-0 and providing zero reason for him to come out of the net. For that reason, Raanta had to wait over two full weeks into the season to get into his first game, a victory over Chicago.
#32 continued in the B-role for the club for the foreseeable future, with Andersen emerging as one of the best goaltenders in the league through the turn of the calendar year. In addition to the limited time and a concussion in November, Raanta then suffered an injury amid the team's comeback of epic proportions January 1 in Columbus.
Sidelined for almost the entire month, the then 32-year-old was able to get back in one game just before the All-Star break, putting together a dazzling win over New Jersey. The night turned out to be a turning point in the season for Raanta, who had a strong second half before getting the biggest opportunity of his career in the postseason.
With Andersen on the shelf this time, Raanta carried the load for 13 of the team's 14 playoff contests, outstanding in 11 of the outings. Unfortunately he would suffer an MCL sprain during Carolina's final contest of the year Game Seven against the New York Rangers.

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