By BOB SUTTON Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov likely will miss the rest of the season after opting for surgery for a lingering lower-body injury.
It’s another blow for the Hurricanes, who held the best record in the Eastern Conference at 23-11-3 entering Monday night’s game against the New York Rangers.
“It’s what he has been dealing with all year,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He has decided to have surgery, so he’s going to be out for probably the year.”
Kochetkov is 6-2-0 this season with a 2.33 goals against average in nine outings. He has yet to undergo the surgery.
“Didn’t feel right all year,” Brind’Amour said. “He has been playing great, so that’s the hard part. He has been kind of fighting through it. But he doesn’t want to continue that way, so we’ll get it fixed and go from there.”
Kochetkov, 26, had been slated to be in the net against the Rangers. He shut out New York with 26 saves Nov. 4 in New York.
His last outing, Dec. 20 at Tampa Bay, he allowed five goals on 28 shots to the Lightning.
The Hurricanes are likely to rely even more heavily on rookie goalie Brandon Bussi, who drew Monday night’s assignment. Veteran Frederik Andersen has been erratic in 15 games with a 5-8-2 record, with losses in his last seven appearances.
It has been a challenging opening 2½ months for the Hurricanes because of injuries. Seth Jarvis, who leads the team with 19 goals, sat out his fourth consecutive game Monday with an injury.
“You lose arguably your best player offensively in that spot, so you’ve got to fill it,” Brind’Amour said.
The Hurricanes, who lead the Metropolitan Division, claimed forward Noah Philp off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers. He wasn’t available to play Monday.
Carolina played without Shayne Gostisbehere, whose 29 points are more than twice any other defenseman on the team. He had three points Saturday night, but was scratched with an ailment.
Defenseman K’Andre Miller moved back into the lineup to face his former team. Defenseman Gavin Bayreuther, who was recalled earlier in the day from Chicago of the AHL, was scratched.
Brind’Amour said the Hurricanes had a couple of seasons without long injury lists. Now, he regularly juggles lineups.
“This is kind of unprecedented,” he said. “Every team has a certain degree of it. … You got to figure it out.”
The Hurricanes had season-worst three-game losing streak before winning Saturday against the Atlantic Division-leading Detroit Red Wings.
“It’s a testament to the guys who are playing every night,” Brind’Amour said.