Hurricanes’ Pyotr Kochetkov out at least a week with lower-body injury
Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour has announced that goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov will be out for at least a week with a lower-body injury.
Rod Brind'Amour says Pyotr Kochetkov (lower-body injury) will be out for at least a week.
The head coach hopes the goalie can travel on the team's six-game road trip that starts Monday, but also expressed confidence in Brandon Bussi if the team needs him to play. pic.twitter.com/8NvjEHSXN5
Kochetkov was held out of Thursday’s season opener against the New Jersey Devils due to an at-the-time undisclosed injury. He had played just one preseason, the finale of their exhibitions matches last Saturday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators. It’s unclear if Kochetkov’s injury occurred during that game or if it was sustained outside of game action.
Brind’Amour mentioned that the hope is that Kochektov will still be able to join the Hurricanes for their six-game road trip through parts of the Western Conference. However, the Canes’ head coach has confidence in third-string netminder Brandon Bussi should he be needed to play.
Kochetkov’s current timeline for return has him missing Saturday’s home game against the Philadelphia Flyers and the first three games of the road trip in California against the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. The Hurricanes don’t play a single back-to-back over the course of the road trip, so barring any fatigue or injuries, Frederik Andersen could start all six games if need be.
Kochetkov is coming off of a season that, due to a lengthy injury to Andersen, allowed the Penza, Russia product to play the most games in his NHL career, but he also struggled more than he had in any season prior to 2024-25. In 47 games, Kochetkov had a 27-16-3 record and two shutouts, but also an .898 save percentage and -1.18 5v5 goals saved above expected.
Kochetkov also had a 1-1 record, an .855 SV% and a -5.07 5v5 GSAx in four playoff games last season.
The Hurricanes will look to build off of a strong 6-3 win over the Devils to start the season when they host the Flyers on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST. Carolina’s 1-0-0 record currently has them in second in the Metropolitan Division behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.