Carolina Hurricanes place struggling goalie Antti Raanta on NHL waivers

The day after a rough outing against the Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta on Saturday was placed on NHL waivers.

NHL teams have 24 hours to make a claim on the veteran goaltender.

Raanta, who was re-signed by the Canes in July to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, allowed six goals on 31 shots Friday as Carolina was beaten 6-5 in overtime by the Preds.

Raanta, 34, has lost four of his last decisions and gave up eight goals on 14 shots against Tampa Bay in an 8-2 loss on Nov. 24 at PNC Arena – his worst start as a Hurricane.

Raanta has a 6-5-1 record this season, and his 3.61 goals-against average and .854 save percentage are among the worst in the league.

Raanta’s ineffectiveness has come at a time when Frederik Andersen, the Canes’ No. 1 goalie, has been sidelined with a blood-clotting issue.

Asked before Friday’s game if he anticipated Andersen returning this season, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said; “I don’t know. I hope so. There’s just too much unknown right now.”

Brind’Amour said he had been told Andersen’s condition is improving but added, “This is one of those things that’s month to month and (Andersen) getting rechecked to see if things are looking good. So who knows?”

The Canes have had to rely on Pyotr Kochetkov, who had played eight the last 10 games before Friday. Kochetkov has won his last two, against Ottawa and Detroit on the road, allowing two goals on 58 shots.

“At the end of the day you see what happens wen your goalie plays well,” Brind’Amour said. “The game looks a lot different. If we get consistency in that position, I think everything looks way different.”

Raanta, who has appeared to labor at times in recent starts, has had injury issues in the past. His last win was Nov. 22 against Edmonton, when he left after the first period at PNC Arena with an unspecified injury.

Two days later, Tampa Bay came to PNC Arena and had the eight-goal outburst.

Carolina brought in veteran goalie Jaroslav Halak on a tryout earlier in the season but released him from his PTO.

Goalie Yaniv Perets, who signed a two-year entry level contract with the Canes in April, has been playing for the Norfolk Admirals in the ECHL. The former Quinnipiac star, 23, has a 5-5-1 record with a 2.38 GAA and .916 save percentage.