The ability to keep the Bruins in check was one thing, but Kochetkov also worked the crowd into a frenzy late in the second period when he stood his ground during a run-in with Bruins forward Brad Marchand.
"I said, 'Be confident and don't worry about anything. It's playoff hockey and I know you're ready. You're going to produce well here,'" Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov said. "He's that kind of guy. I remember from the past playing with him in junior hockey, he gets into that."
Kochetkov, selected by Carolina in the second round (No. 36) of the 2019 NHL Draft, went 13-1-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in 15 games with Chicago of the American Hockey League this season. He was called up to the Hurricanes on April 18 and made his NHL debut five days later, going 3-0-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .902 save percentage in three games (two starts).
"He's got a good record so I'm sure they believe in him, but playoff hockey is a different animal," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "They knew they were going to have to tighten up in front of him to give him a chance when you're thrown in like that.
"I thought the young kid did a really good job. We could have had more than two."
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Bruins series coverage]
Kochetkov, the Hurricanes' No. 3 goalie, entered at 7:47 of the first with the score 0-0 when Raanta left with an upper-body injury after being hit by Bruins forward David Pastrnak while playing the puck just outside the crease. Frederik Andersen, Carolina's No. 1 goalie, is out because of a lower-body injury sustained April 16.
Kochetkov stopped the first 12 shots he faced before Patrice Bergeron pulled Boston within 3-1 on a rebound in the slot at 14:57 of the second period. The goalie confronted Marchand less than three minutes later when the Bruins forward bumped him outside the crease after Kochetkov made the save on his shot from the left face-off circle at 17:51.
Kochetkov slashed and then shoved Marchand, who retaliated a slash of his own. Each player was assessed a minor penalty for slashing.
"We're not going to get pushed around, I guarantee you that," DeAngelo said.
Kochetkov came up big in the third period, stopping 16 of 17 shots, including four during a Bruins power play that began with 4:11 left.
"He's a great goalie, makes clutch saves and you really want to work hard for a guy like that," Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho said. "I wasn't surprised he came [up] clutch again."
