FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Carolina Hurricanes are making a change in goal with the hope of finding a spark to fuel a comeback in the Eastern Conference Final.
Pyotr Kochetkov will replace Frederik Andersen for Game 3 against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Andersen allowed nine goals on 36 shots for a 5.54 goals-against average and .750 save percentage in Games 1 and 2 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Florida won each, 5-2 and 5-0, to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.
Kochetkov replaced Andersen for the third period of Game 2 on Thursday and made four saves on five shots.
"Just change the vibe a little bit," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I don't blame Freddy on any of the goals that went in. Obviously, save percentage is not great, if you look at that. We do need some saves, but I can't blame him on any of them. All the goals have been great shots or plays by them. But just to change the vibe a little bit."
Andersen was arguably Carolina's most valuable player through the first two rounds, going 7-2 with a 1.36 GAA and .937 save percentage and allowing 12 goals on 189 shots, including four on 52 high-danger shots on goal for a League-best .923 save percentage on those types of shots, according to NHL EDGE stats.
But he allowed six goals on 10 high-danger shots in the first two games of the conference final and has lost six consecutive starts against the Panthers in this round since 2023. The Hurricanes have lost 14 straight games in the conference final since 2009.
Kochetkov has appeared in three games this postseason, twice in relief. He started Game 5 of the first round against the New Jersey Devils -- a 5-4 double-overtime win in the series-clincher -- when Andersen was out with an injury, and is 1-0 with a 2.57 GAA and .891 save percentage (six goals on 55 shots) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Kochetkov was 27-16-3 with a 2.60 GAA, .898 save percentage and two shutouts in 47 starts during the regular season, when Andersen was limited to 22 games because of injury.
"He's a kid we've had in there all year and he's played well for us," Brind'Amour said of Kochetkov.
The Panthers will be without forward Sam Reinhart, who is day to day with a lower-body injury, coach Paul Maurice said.
Jesper Boqvist will replace Reinhart in the lineup and on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Evan Rodrigues.
This will be the first playoff game Reinhart will miss since joining the Panthers in 2021-22. He has missed only seven regular-season games in that time.
Reinhart has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 14 games this postseason after he led Florida with 39 goals and 81 points (42 assists) during the regular season.
"You have to be able to survive," Maurice said. "You can't have one guy go down and not still have a chance or you don't have the depth that you think."
Maurice said Boqvist's experience playing with Barkov when Rodrigues was out of the lineup for Games 5 and 6 against the Toronto Maple Leafs will help. He has a goal and an assist in nine games this postseason.
"The injury to Rodrigues becomes a benefit at some point because (Boqvist) came in and played with Barkov," Maurice said, "so he slides in with the centerman he's going to play with and he's played with that guy before, and there's not a lot of time or concern with that. There's a familiarity there that lets those guys just go out and play."
Teams that take a 3-0 lead in a best-of-7 playoff series go on to win the series 98.1 percent of the time (208-4).
Here's a breakdown of Game 3:
Hurricanes: The good news is Seth Jarvis will play after the forward failed to finish Game 2 because of an undisclosed injury. But defensemen Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield, each a game-time decision because of an undisclosed injury, are each out, with Scott Morrow and Alexander Nikishin each in. Walker skated briefly Saturday morning with Dmitry Orlov, who has been his defense partner the past three games, after not playing in the third period of Game 2. Chatfield, who is regularly Orlov's partner, didn't skate Saturday morning and will miss his fourth straight game; he has not played since a 5-2 win against the Washington Capitals in Game 4 of the second round on May 12. Regardless of the lineup, Carolina must be better at exiting its defensive zone with possession. Florida's pressure has led to turnovers that the Panthers have turned into goals.
Panthers: The situation is not the same, but the lesson learned in the Stanley Cup Final last year applies now. Florida held a 3-0 lead on the Edmonton Oilers, trailing once in those first three games for less than 20 minutes and outscoring the Oilers 11-4. Eleven days later, they were playing in Game 7 after having lost three straight. The Panthers believe what they went through against the Oilers can play a role in their approach against the Hurricanes. "The nerves and all the emotion that comes with that is something you don't forget," Rodrigues said. "So when you get into this situation like this year, we're up 2-0, you understand what it takes."
Number to know: 5. The Panthers can become the third team in the past 30 years to score at least five goals in four consecutive playoff games, following the Colorado Avalanche (five in 2024, four in 2021) and Detroit Red Wings (four in 1995). Florida defeated Toronto 6-1 in Game 7 of the second round and scored five in each of the first two games against Carolina.
What to look for: Scoring the first goal always matters, of course, but it seems to be of particular importance to the Hurricanes and Panthers. Carolina is 5-0 in the playoffs in games when it takes a 1-0 lead, and 3-4 when allowing the first goal. Florida is 8-2 when scoring first and 2-2 when giving up the opening goal. The Hurricanes were 30-7-2 in the regular season when scoring first and 17-23-3 in games they trailed 1-0. The Panthers were 33-10-0 and 14-21-4, respectively.
What they are saying
"We have to make sure we're making hard plays. We can't make any soft plays up the wall. It's easy as a defenseman to pinch down the wall when it's a soft play. We've got to make sure we're breaking out as a five-man unit and making sure every play is hard. It can't be soft." -- Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin
"I think once we got our full lineup on the ice you could see how deep we were. Obviously on paper you could look at it and you understand that, yeah, we're a good team on paper, but I think once you saw the chemistry the lines started to create and the defensive corps started to create. We didn't get our whole lineup until Game 3 of the playoffs. Once you saw that you could see we have something special in here, but that doesn't win you games unless you play the right way and use it to your advantage, and I think we've done a pretty good job of that." -- Panthers forward Brad Marchand
