Dmitry Orlov saves his goaltender from receiving a 10-game suspension
Photo credit: Amy C. Irvin - The Hockey Writers
Last night Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov was forced to hold back his teammate goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov in order to prevent him from being suspended.
The Carolina Hurricanes and St. Louis Blues faced off last night in a cross-conference game. The Hurricanes came into the games as the favorite to win as a contending team while the Blues were hoping to play spoiler. The game would be tight heading into the final period with the Blues up 3-1. In the third period the Hurricanes would score a pair of goals to tie things up.
The flurry of goals would continue with Kasperi Kapanen of the St. Louis Blues putting one home to take the lead back. The Blues would hold on for the upset win but as the final whistle blew chaos broke loose. Several players from the Carolina Hurricanes and St. Louis Blues ended up in a shoving match and a brawl. From the bench Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov wanted to get involved. Instead, he was held back by his teammate Dmitry Orlov.
This was a crucial decision by Orlov who the Hurricanes signed during the 2023 offseason as it prevented Pyotr Kochetkov from facing a major suspension. If a player comes off of the bench to join into a fight they are supposed to face an automatic 10-game suspension from the NHL. With Pyotr Kochetkov coming to the bench for the extra attacker this rule would've applied to him.
If the Carolina Hurricanes had lost Pyotr Kochetkov for 10 games it would have been a big loss to their lineup. Even though Pyotr Kochetkov is just the backup to Frederik Andersen, Kochetkov is one of the higher-end backups after having to start 42 games last season. The Carolina Hurricanes also lack depth at the goaltending position which would've forced Frederik Andersen to essentially start every game Pyotr Kochetkov was suspended.
Instead, the scrum was broken up and only Brayden Schenn and Andrei Svechnikov were assessed penalties on the play. Now both teams will go on their way and Pyotr Kochetkov has learned an important less not to come off of the bench to chase a fight that his teammates are in.
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