Brind'Amour: Raanta out 'at least a couple weeks' with lower-body injury
Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour expects goaltender Antti Raanta to be out "at least a couple of weeks" with a lower-body injury, per team beat reporter Walt Ruff.
Raanta entered Thursday's 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in relief of Pyotr Kochetkov, who surrendered two goals in the final minute of the opening frame. Raanta played the entire second period and turned aside all nine shots he faced, but Kochetkov replaced him for the final stanza.
The 34-year-old has had a difficult season, owning an .872 save percentage and 2.99 goals against average across 24 appearances while ranking among the league's worst netminders in goals saved above average (minus-15.31) and goals saved above expected (minus-7.64) at all strengths, according to Evolving-Hockey. The Hurricanes also waived Raanta in December, but he went unclaimed.
Despite Raanta's struggles, he's been Carolina's second-most utilized goalie this season, appearing in one less game and three fewer starts than Kochetkov. Frederik Andersen has been out since early November due to a blood clotting issue, but he was cleared to resume on-ice activity in late January.
Carolina scooped Spencer Martin off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets in January, and he's since made one start for his new team, a 26-save effort in a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins.
The NHL's trade deadline is March 8. The Hurricanes currently have just under $6.7 million in projected deadline cap space, per CapFriendly.