Raanta feels healthy, expects Coyotes to build on strong finish

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Antti Raanta is certain Arizona Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet will like what he sees when training camp opens Thursday.

Namely, a No. 1 goaltender who didn't work in the offseason to get bigger and stronger, but one who emphasized doing all the little things to prepare for the physical challenges of an 82-game NHL season.
Similarly, Raanta liked everything he saw at the Coyotes' annual fan festival Saturday at Gila River Arena.
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More fans than ever before. More accomplished players brought in from other teams, including forwards Alex Galchenyuk and Michael Grabner. More optimism than one might expect for a team that finished last in the Pacific Division last season and hasn't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2012.
"Everybody's always laughing at the Coyotes, always the bottom team. I think we're going to surprise a lot of teams, like we surprised them the last half of last year," Raanta said of their 17-12-3 record to finish the 2017-18 season. "That's our goal, to keep on going."
Especially the goaltender himself.
Raanta, who was a backup with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers, began last season as a No. 1 goaltender for the first time in the NHL, but he didn't get healthy until midseason, playing in 13 of Arizona's first 31 games because of injuries. Even after he started feeling good, he was briefly sidelined following a car accident on his way to a home game against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 1.

Tocchet was unhappy with Raanta's conditioning program heading into last season, believing it contributed to a succession of upper- and lower-body injuries. It didn't help that his backups underperformed, leading the Coyotes to trade for goaltender Darcy Kuemper on Feb. 21.
"When you're No. 1 for the first time, I was trying to get more muscle and strength, and (you) kind of forget it's not all about lifting lot of weights," Raanta said. "When you're a goalie, you have to make sure all the small pieces in the body are in good shape. The hamstrings got tight right away when the camp started. … That was a mistake, for sure. By the end of last year, you understand your body better."
Raanta, intent on avoiding a repeat of those early-season injuries and the Coyotes' 8-25-5 start, put away the barbells this offseason in favor of a closely scripted, detailed conditioning program.
"You feel the pressure when you're hurt and the team isn't winning," Raanta said. "That was tough, for sure, but it's in the past. … When I got healthy and we were playing the way we were playing the second half of the season, it just felt we were on the right track, we were doing something right. You had the feeling inside of you that we could build something special."

That included keeping Raanta, who signed a three-year contract with Arizona on April 6. The 29-year-old, who was acquired in a trade from New York on June 23, 2017, could have become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Raanta's effect on the Coyotes when he was healthy was evident. They finished 12 games below .500 but were four games above when he played. They won eight of the last 10 games he played and 13 of his last 16.
Among NHL goaltenders who played at least 41 games, Raanta had the best save percentage (.930) and was tied for first in goals-against average with Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights (2.24).
"It was a lot of fun to play at end of year … we had the opportunity to kind of ruin somebody's dream, and we wanted to beat everybody and we did pretty good," Raanta said. "It has to be our mindset at the start of the year, we want to be the playoff team that everybody comes here and tries to beat."