‘Yotes Notes: Antti Raanta not ready, Zac Rinaldo is
Oct 16, 2017, 4:53 PM
Arizona Coyotes' Luke Schenn (2) is unable to stop a shot by San Jose Sharks' Mikkel Boedker before getting past goalie Antti Raanta (32) for a goal during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — There is no timeline yet for injured Coyotes goalie Antti Raanta to return to the lineup, coach Rick Tocchet said Monday. Raanta did not travel with the team when it departed for Dallas on Monday afternoon for a game against the Stars on Tuesday.
“He still hasn’t skated so still day to day,” Tocchet said. “He’s got to skate.”
Coyotes general manager John Chayka termed Raanta’s injury a “muscle strain” that the team still does not view as long term. Raanta has been out of the lineup since Thursday when he left after the first period of a 4-2 loss to Detroit. He has appeared in just three of the team’s five games, and he has finished only one. He left a 5-2 loss at Vegas on Oct. 10 after allowing three goals in 6:15 of play.
Raanta played just two periods of the preseason and missed the season opener with a lower-body injury he called “a spasm.”
Tocchet suggested for the second time on Monday that Raanta may not have arrived at training camp ready to go.
“There’s a lot of factors to it,” Tocchet said. “I love him to death. He’s a great guy but yeah, he could have been a little more prepared, but with some of the injuries he’s got now he’s going to have to deal with them and we’re going to get him over the hump.”
Raanta has not spoken to reporters since the injury.
RINALDO READY
Forward Zac Rinaldo hasn’t played in an NHL game since Feb. 28, 2016, against Tampa Bay while he was a member of the Boston Bruins. He was suspended five games for an illegal check to the head of the Lightning’s Cedric Paquette in that game and then spent last season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, where he served another suspension for a blindside hit on Bridgeport Sound Tigers defenseman Kane Lafranchise.
Rinaldo has been on the Coyotes roster for the first five games of the season, which means he has finally served his NHL suspension. There is a strong chance he will be in the lineup when the Coyotes face the Stars on Tuesday in Dallas.
“A year and a half,” Rinaldo said. “It’s the longest five-game suspension, probably in NHL history. It’s not a laughing matter any more. That was bull(expletive). I didn’t deserve that. I worked my ass off to be back here and now I’m going to stay here so I’m going to do whatever I can every single night, every single day, every single practice to stay here.”
Rinaldo is known as an energy guy and an agitator. In 275 career games, he has 655 penalty minutes.
“I’m not going to give my exact medicine to my game but I’m going to do everything within this system to help our team win,” he said. “That’s blocking shots. That’s chipping a puck properly. Every little detail that I can control I’m going to do within our system.”
COOLER HEADS
Tocchet backed off the suggestion he made after Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Boson that he might enforce curfews and bag skates.
“I’ve got to be careful,” he said. “You get frustrated. Boston has one shot for 13 minutes, we’ve led five of the six games this year. Statistically, in analytics, we’re right up there with a playoff caliber team so we have a lot of good things. The negative is the crucial mistakes at the wrong time.”
Tocchet said he has no current plans to enforce curfews or bag skates. The players stayed after Saturday’s loss for a workout — something Tocchet said didn’t need to be suggested — but Monday’s practice was normal, with a lighthearted, chatter-filled breakaway drills at the end.
“I’ve obviously got to lead the group, and I take that very seriously, but you’ve got to be careful how hard you are,” Tocchet said. “There’s a lot of things to it when you have a young team that’s trying to find its way.”
LOOSE PUCKS
— Chayka said forward Brendan Perlini (upper body) is eligible to come off injured reserve on Tuesday. He didn’t travel to Dallas, but it’s possible he’ll play Thursday when Dallas comes to Gila River Arena. The Coyotes placed Perlini on IR on Oct. 11 after he left a game against Vegas on Oct. 10 following a big hit.
— Brad Richardson (lower body) took a maintenance day on Monday but Tocchet thinks he’ll play Tuesday in Dallas. He’ll make a final determination after the morning skate.
— Tocchet has not decided whether Louis Domingue or Adin Hill will play against the Stars. The Coyotes recalled Hill from Tucson on Monday and re-assigned Marek Langhamer.
