Antti Raanta’s return could cure some of Arizona Coyotes’ ills

NEWARK, N.J. — To blame the Coyotes’ 0-9-1 record entirely on goaltending would be unfair. An objective analysis of Arizona’s franchise-worst start would produce a long list of contributing factors, including defensive breakdowns, poor puck management, lack of scoring depth and the expected hurdles of youth and a new style of play.

To ignore the role that goaltending has played in this start would be naïve, however. Backups Louis Domingue (.858) and Adin Hill (.880) rank 46th and 43rd respectively in the NHL in save percentage out of 50 goalies that have played. They are 48th and 45th respectively in goals against average: Domingue at 4.36; Hill at 3.76.

For Domingue, those numbers are troubling because the Coyotes are counting on him to be their backup all season. For Hill, the numbers are troubling for a different reason. It never should have come to this.

In an ideal world, Hill would be playing with Tucson of the American League, developing his game and confidence for his NHL future. Making a start at Madison Square Garden on Thursday was an example of not putting a player in a position to succeed, and Hill struggled, allowing one soft goal that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead and misplaying a puck on the Rangers’ fourth goal in a 5-2 loss.

The problem for coach Rick Tocchet is that he had no choice. Domingue hasn’t played well and Antti Raanta has only played 90 minutes this season due to a muscle strain in his lower body.

“We need some stops,” Tocchet said after the loss to the Rangers. “I hate to say it. Hilly’s a great kid. He’s a young kid, but we need stops.”

The guy who was supposed to be making the majority of those stops may finally be nearing a return. Raanta practiced for a third straight day on Friday. He is facing shots, taking part in drills and he manned his own net for part of the practice while Domingue and Hill shared the other net.

“He had a good day today so we’ll decide [Saturday],” Tocchet said. “That’s positive news here. Obviously, he’s a solid goalie but he’s really an infectious guy. He’s got a lot of personality. We want to see the smile around the room. That will help the team. When your players love your goalie they seem to play harder sometimes.”

Raanta spoke to the media on Thursday at Madison Square Garden when the Coyotes waived their exception for injured players and made him available because he was returning to see his old team.

“The last couple days it’s been better,” he said. “On the ice, we have been working harder, putting more pressure on the body, starting to get more shots and feel how it is. It’s still a little process but hopefully we can go sooner than later. We just want to make sure that everything is good to go. We don’t want to rush it.

Raanta knows his coach, his general manager and everybody else remotely associated with this organization want to see him in net.

“If I could make the choice, I would already be playing… but I just need to listen to the guys who are a little bit smarter than me and who know something about the human body,” he said. “I’m not sure what the timetable is right now but hopefully a couple more good practice days.”

Tocchet has suggested a couple times that Raanta did not report to training camp in optimal shape. If true, that’s inexplicable for any player, and doubly so for a guy getting his first crack at becoming a No. 1 goalie.

Raanta’s absence has hurt the Coyotes and he knows it.

“Right now, it’s super frustrating,” he said. “You want to be the guy that can turn things around and you want to be the guy that can show the way and when you need to sit in the press box and watch the games and things are not going in our way, it’s really frustrating, but at the same time I can still see that our team is trying and that is the only thing we can do. We need to keep on pushing. We need to keep on working hard and it’s going to turn around.”

Raanta admitted his current injury has lingered longer than expected.

“Maybe a little bit,” he said. “If you get hurt, you want to get back there as soon as possible. When you’re not skating in a week and the days keep going and going and games start going it’s a tough process, but you also have to think that there are so many games left in a season so you want to be 100 percent.

“We want to make sure that everything is OK and we’re good to go whenever we get the green light.”

Coyotes at Devils

When: 4 p.m., Saturday
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
TV: FOX Sports Arizona Plus
Radio: KTAR 92.3 FM
Records: Coyotes — 0-9-1. Devils — 7-2.

Injury report: Coyotes — D Jakob Chychrun (knee) is out indefinitely. G Antti Raanta (lower body) is day-to-day. Devils — F Kyle Palmieri (lower body) and G Cory Schneider (birth of child) are day to day. C Travis Zajac (pectoral muscle), C Brian Boyle (illness) and F Michael McLeod (left knee) are out indefinitely.

Devils scouting report: New Jersey is one of the biggest surprises of the NHL season. After missing the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season in April, the Devils are tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division standings. … D Will Butcher (10 points), F Nico Hischier (seven points) and F Jesper Bratt (seven points) all rank among the top 10 in rookie points. … Butcher and F Taylor Hall lead the team with 10 points.

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