Hurricanes tab Raanta for his 1st-ever playoff start

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta is making the first postseason start of his nine-year career Monday in Game 1 against the Boston Bruins.

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed his decision after the morning skate, according to team reporter Walt Ruff.

Carolina's No. 1 netminder, Frederik Andersen, was already ruled out for the matchup due to an undisclosed injury. Raanta has been Andersen's backup for most of this season, but 22-year-old Pyotr Kochetkov made a few appearances in goal for the Hurricanes toward the end of the campaign.

Raanta, who'll turn 33 on May 12, has played five postseason games. He took the loss in his playoff debut with the New York Rangers in 2016, then came on in relief during four other defeats - two more with the Blueshirts that year and two with the Arizona Coyotes in 2020. He has an .846 save percentage in the postseason.

The Finnish netminder began his career with the Chicago Blackhawks but joined the club after the first two of their three most recent championships. He didn't play in the postseason when they won the Stanley Cup in 2015.

Raanta went 15-5-4 with a .912 save percentage over 28 games during the 2021-22 regular season.

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