FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes switched starting goalies again for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, going back to Frederik Andersen for Monday night's win-or-else game against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Andersen started Games 1 and 2, getting pulled after the second period of Game 2.
He stopped only 27 of 36 shots in those five periods, and the Hurricanes went to Pyotr Kochetkov to finish Game 2 and then play Game 3.
Kochetkov helped Carolina get into the third period of Game 3 with the score tied at 1-1 — then gave up five goals in a nine-minute span of the third, as Florida pulled away for a 6-2 win and a 3-0 lead in the East title series.
“He's been great for us all year,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said Monday. “He's had a nice couple of days off, so it makes sense to chuck him in there.”
Brind'Amour didn't blame Kochetkov for the Game 3 loss, noting that he had kept Carolina in the game for 40 minutes. But with the season at stake, Andersen's 82 career postseason starts coming into Monday probably rated him the edge over Kochetkov — who made his fourth career postseason start Saturday.
“He's been through some trials and tribulations in his career, he's taken months off and then walks into the net and looks like hasn't missed a beat,” Brind'Amour said. “I don't know how that is, but it's certainly a unique skill set he's bringing and we need it tonight."
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
