Confidence, Teammates Helped Raanta Win NHL Award

GLENDALE -- Antti Raanta turned heads last week by winning all three of his starts, including a 40-save shutout vs. Edmonton on Saturday afternoon.
The NHL rewarded Arizona's goalie by naming him the League's Second Star of the Week on Monday.
"It's a nice bonus, but without good team play you never can do that," Raanta said. "Goalies can't do it by themselves. We played really good hockey last week."

The Coyotes won four games in six days from Feb. 12-17. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood also earned a victory, but Raanta relieved him in the third period after Wedgewood absorbed a hit to the head vs. San Jose. In total, Raanta stopped 123 of 126 shots he faced in nearly 10 periods of work.
"Rhythm is pretty much the key point for goalies," Raanta said. "When you get more starts you start finding your consistency and then you can play even better all the time … The guys are doing a great job in front of me. They are helping me a lot. I think it's a mix of confidence, a little bit of good luck and lots of good things the guys are doing in front of me."

Center Derek Stepan has been Raanta's teammate for three seasons now, two with the New York Rangers and one here in Arizona. Stepan said Raanta is a huge key to the team's recent success.
"I thought our group has played a lot better in front of him lately, but we're still making mistakes," Stepan said. "The difference now is that Antti has been just absolutely dynamite."
The Coyotes acquired Raanta from the Rangers last June and immediately named him their starting goaltender. Raanta is enjoying that role. He said being the No. 1 goalie is actually easier and less nerve-racking than being the backup.
"I love it," Raanta said. "Playing games is way easier than sitting on the bench and watching other guys doing it. It's been awesome to just play and play and play. It's a great opportunity and I've been loving every day of it. It just keeps getting better everyday."
Nevertheless, Raanta has experienced some challenges off the ice this season. Back in December, he had to move his family from their first Arizona home because of an issue with scorpions, and earlier this month he was involved in a minor car accident that cost him a start. Overall, though, he said he and his family love living in Arizona. The pace of life here, he said, is more like it is in Rauma, his hometown in Finland that hosts about 39,000 people.

"It's been an emotional roller coaster," Raanta said, but with a smile. "The start of the season was frustrating because of my injuries. I'd been waiting for this opportunity for the last four or five years, and then I got hurt. During that time I just tried to stay focused on getting back in the best possible shape, and now I feel like I'm just getting started. It's been a lot of fun, but there've been some bumps in the road, on and off the ice - the injuries, the car accident, the scorpions. Overall, it's been a good learning experience."
He added, "But I haven't seen a rattlesnake yet. That's my biggest fear."
Stepan said Raanta is oozing a contagious type of confidence.
"He had a rocky start in the sense that he wasn't healthy," Stepan said. "He got hurt, came back, got hurt, came back again. But now he's healthy and I think he's feeling really good about his game. He's been a big backstop for us and that pushes confidence into our group and it pushes confidence into him. If you watch him, he's just dialed in at all times. Even in practices he's not letting anything in."
Goaltending Coach Corey Schwab likes Raanta's compete level, in games and in practices, and his patience in the net.

"Overall I think he's done a really good job of controlling rebounds at the right time and of killing plays, whether it's catching pucks or allowing us to have a whistle and be able to change up and get fresh guys out there," Schwab said. "When you play a lot and play well and win games, the game slows down for you. I think he's done a good job of reading plays overall. That comes when you get to play a lot of games and get into a rhythm."
Raanta already has appeared in a career-high 35 games with 23 left on the schedule. Asked about his stamina, Raanta said he's not concerned about fatigue whatsoever.
"We have a great group of trainers here who's helping us every day, so there's no excuses why you can't be playing every game," Raanta said.
The NHL named New Jersey rookie forward Nico Hischier (four goals, three assists in four games) as its First Star of the Week, and Winnipeg forward Mark Schiefele (three goals, four assists in three games) as its Third Star of the Week.