RALEIGH, NC. - The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to turn to Antti Raanta on Thursday as they host the Montreal Canadiens at PNC Arena.
Making his first start since being waived and playing a two-game stint in the American Hockey League, the organization is hoping that the netminder found some more confidence in his game.
"We like the guy and we know what he's capable of," Rod Brind'Amour said when he met with reporters pre-game. "But at the end of the day, it's big boy hockey and we all have to play to our abilities."
After a 6-5-0 start to the season with an .854 save percentage in the NHL, the 34-year-old went 1-0-1 while with the Chicago Wolves, stopping 42 out of 48 shots.
Expected to play in his 13th career game against the Habs, Raanta is 8-1-0 with a .927 save percentage against Montreal.
In front of him, no changes are expected to the lineup of skaters.
The batch of 18 produced a rather impressive 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators in the Music City last night, including three power play goals. Returning from the break, the team rolled out some different forward combinations that it hadn't utilized yet this year, resulting in both Jack Drury and Andrei Svechnikov scoring for their respective lines at five-on-five.
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Tonight's Projected Lineup...
Forwards
Svechnikov - Aho - Teravainen
Bunting - Kotkaniemi - Necas
Martinook - Staal - Jarvis
Noesen - Drury - Fast
Defense
Slavin - Burns
Skjei - Pesce
Orlov - Chatfield
Goaltenders
Raanta
Kochetkov
Injuries
Frederik Andersen (Blood Clotting Issue)
Healthy Scratches
Tony DeAngelo
Brendan Lemieux
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PP1: Aho, Bunting, Jarvis, and Svechnikov with Burns
PP2: Drury, Necas, Noesen, and Teravainen with Skjei
