Raanta makes pair of stunning saves, gets help from Smith, Cole

Antti Raanta didn't just make 35 saves in his first-ever Stanley Cup Playoff start, he made a pair of ridiculous ones.

The Carolina Hurricanes goalie got off to a good start just five minutes into the first period. Raanta showcased his athleticism with a reach-back save on a wrist shot from Bruins forward Craig Smith that trickled past him and headed toward the goal line. Raanta got a little help from Hurricanes defenseman Brendan Smith on the play.
"[Raanta] really kept us in it in the first. They were all over us so having him back there to be our backbone and keep us in the game early was huge," forward Vincent Trocheck

.
"He's been great for us," forward Nino Niederreiter told

. "We try to help him as much as we can. He's been good for us, that's all we need."

With just over 12 minutes left in the first, Raanta made another great save on a Patrice Bergeron rebound that also seemed ticketed for the net. He capped it off in the third period with a two-save combination while getting another helping hand from defenseman Ian Cole, who jumped in behind a diving Raanta to stop a puck with his glove.