Raanta had an on-ice workout with Carolina goalie coach Paul Schonfelder on Thursday, one day after he was injured in the first period of Game 2 on a hit by Bruins forward David Pastrnak when he was playing the puck outside the crease. Pyotr Kochetkov, a 22-year-old rookie, made 30 saves in relief in his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.
"We put [Raanta] on the ice today. It's a good sign," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He's still not 100 percent, so I'm not sure where he will be tomorrow. Hopefully he will be OK to get in there. I'm not sure at this point."
Pastrnak made contact with the goalie's left leg and head and was assessed a minor penalty for goaltender interference. Raanta was bleeding from the mouth when he left the ice.
"He got a little cut," Brind'Amour said. "But something else was bothering him. He took his stuff off, the whole nine yards. He wasn't going to be able to come back. Very easy decision."
The Hurricanes won Game 2 5-2 and will look to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, SN360, TVAS2, NESN, BSSO).
Raanta made 35 saves in his first playoff start in Game 1 on Monday, a 5-1 win. He is 1-0 with a 0.89 goals-against average and .976 save percentage in two games.
Frederik Andersen, who played 52 regular-season games (51 starts) for the Hurricanes, has not played since sustaining a lower-body injury in a 7-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on April 16.
"He's definitely getting closer, but until he gets the ice, there's really no update," Brind'Amour said. "It's not basic. … but it's taking time."
Kochetkov was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on April 18, made his NHL debut five days later and went 3-0-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .902 save percentage in three games (two starts).
"The guys feel real comfortable with [Kochetkov]," Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. "He looks great in practice. The guys have a tough time finding the back of the net with him. He plays hard and battles hard, and he's a worker just like everyone else in that room."
Brind'Amour credited the rest of the team for easing the pressure on the two first-time playoff starters.
"Regardless of who's in the net, the guys, they have a job to do," he said. "They have to eliminate as many scoring opportunities as you can. On the flip side, we've seen [Kochetkov] in action and he's held up well. The guys have a lot of faith in him."
