- Pyotr Kochetkov is 7-0-0 with a 1.70 goals-against average for the Hurricanes
- He blanked the Blues 4-0 on Saturday for his 12th career shutout
- Read below for what Kochetkov said about his mindset after a lost season
Pyotr Kochetkov hasn’t lost a game yet this season.
The Hurricanes goalie is 7-0-0 with a 1.70 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. He can stretch the perfect record Tuesday night when Carolina hosts the Bruins at Lenovo Center (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Kochetkov made 24 saves in a 4-0 win at St. Louis on Saturday for his first shutout of the season. It was the 12th of his career. Watch the Canes celebrate it:
The 27-year-old is a long way from where he was a year ago. A hip problem kept him out for the first month of last season, he returned Nov. 4 with a 26-save shutout of the Rangers, then had surgery and was shut down for the year on Dec. 29. He played only nine games.
Kochetkov talked about how that stretch changed him in a conversation with NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest last week in Edmonton.
“I’m happy to be playing because I only played nine games last season and that was tough mentally. But it was actually good to see a game from the outside and it teaches you. Now when I have a bad night, I just think about how it’s better to have a bad night than to not be playing at all.”
Teammates have noticed. Jalen Chatfield played with him in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves and called him a workhorse who puts in the work. Rod Brind’Amour put it simply, saying that when Kochetkov feels good, he plays good.
He got a ring out of it too. Kochetkov was back in practice before the 2026 playoffs and backed up Brandon Bussi for the last three games of the Stanley Cup Final after Frederik Andersen hurt his knee. Carolina beat Vegas in six games for its first title since 2006.
Andersen left for Edmonton in free agency, which left Kochetkov and Bussi as the tandem. Carolina already locked up Kochetkov on a new two-year, $7.9 million extension that starts next season.
Here’s how the Hurricanes wrapped up the Saturday win and the five-game road trip:
The defending champs finished the trip with seven points. Kochetkov has been a big reason why.
