Hurricanes goalie for Game 4 vs. Devils could depend on Raanta's health

NEWARK, N.J. --The Carolina Hurricanes aren't sure what kind of goalie decision they will have to make for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the New Jersey Devils.

The reason: Antti Raanta's status is unknown.

Raanta has not dressed the past two games because of an illness, but he was on the ice for Carolina's practice at Prudential Center on Monday. He had a net to himself while Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov shared the net on the other side of the ice.

Andersen has started Carolina's past four games, winning the first three while allowing one goal in each, but he was pulled less than a minute into the second period of Game 3 on Sunday after allowing four goals on 12 shots. Kochetkov allowed four goals on 22 shots in relief.

The Hurricanes lost 8-4 and had their lead in the best-of-7 series cut to 2-1.

RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Devils series coverage]

Considering Andersen's struggles in Game 3, and Kochetkov's for that matter, plus Raanta's presence at practice Monday, the door was open to question if he's an option to start Game 4 at Prudential Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

"I'm not sure yet," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I mean, hopefully. It's nice to have some options, but until we reconvene here and see how he's doing I'm not sure."

Raanta declined to be interviewed after practice Monday because of his illness, and it's not a slam dunk to start him even if he is ready to go.

But considering the way the Hurricanes used their goalies this season, if Raanta were fully healthy it wouldn't be surprising if he started Game 4.

It's been a rotation among the three goalies the whole season, with Andersen starting 33 games in the regular season, Raanta 26 and Kochetkov 23. Andersen and Raanta rotated the final nine games of the regular season, each starting every other game.

The need to rely on multiple goalies has not changed during the playoffs, which is fine with Brind'Amour.

"You'd like to ride a guy, but depending on how you use them during the year, depending on health issues, everybody is a little different," Brind'Amour said. "We're obviously a little different. We've got two guys we used, really three throughout the year, and we had good success with them. That's where we're at."

Raanta started the first five games in the first round against the New York Islanders, going 3-2 with a 2.59 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. Andersen started Game 6 and allowed one goal on 34 shots in a series-clinching 2-1 overtime win.

Andersen had similar success in Games 1 and 2 at home against the Devils, allowing one goal on 18 shots in a 5-1 win in Game 1 and one on 29 shots in a 6-1 win in Game 2.

Game 3 on the road was different, but is one tough game enough to change goalies? That's the decision the Hurricanes have to make if Raanta is healthy enough.

"We're very aware of how we play well, myself and the team, and we weren't playing like that [Sunday]," Andersen said. "They were winning the battles a little bit more early on, putting stress on us. All those small things add up. I don't want to start making excuses for goals, but there were some bounces that went their way and didn't go our way. Same goes for the first two games, we dominated on the scoreboard and we had things go our way. That happens."

It helps that the goalies, particularly Andersen and Raanta, and the Hurricanes skaters are comfortable with the situation, which is why there is no trepidation about who starts Game 4.

"As individual players it doesn't really change anything with your preparation, it's just nice to know you have two or three guys that can do the job and give you a chance," Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho said. "That's pretty much what you can ask from the goalie anyways, to give you a chance to win the hockey game. All three of them have done a great job for us and we're fortunate to have them."

Regardless of who starts, the Hurricanes know they can't play in Game 4 like they did in Game 3 and expect to leave New Jersey with a lead in the series.

They were down 3-0 in the first period, and 4-0 just 53 seconds into the second when Kochetkov replaced Andersen.

"It's inches here and there, it's not for lack of effort about battling hard," Aho said. "It's playoff hockey so the margin is really smaller. We want to do our thing and get to our game right away and take care of business right away."

The Hurricanes felt they couldn't do that in Game 3 because they were on the wrong end of too many 50/50 puck battles, lacking the attention to detail that helped them win going away in Games 1 and 2.

They feel that is correctable for Game 4.

"We have a pretty good idea of what we need to do [Tuesday]," Aho said. "We definitely learned a lesson. Not good enough. But the beautiful thing is we get another opportunity [Tuesday] night."