After perhaps the toughest stretch, Antti Raanta has not only found his game, but is seemingly turning back the clock too.
In the game of hockey, confidence is key and no position exemplifies that more than goaltending.
When you're facing 80-90mph shots of vulcanized rubber dozens of times a night, you have to believe you're capable of stopping each and every one of them.
Confidence can elevate players to career highs, but it can also bottom them out.
For Carolina Hurricanes netminder Antti Raanta, the latter was the path his confidence had started to go down earlier in the season after a five-game losing streak that ended in a demotion to the AHL.
"Sometimes you kind of forget [who you are]," Raanta said following a 2-1 shootout loss to St. Louis, a game where he posted a 0.955 save percentage. "You have a couple of bad games and kind of forget about what you've been doing for 15, 20 years. It's easy to forget that because you want to win and when things are not going your way, you take it by the heart."
The Finnish netminder hadn't looked like his usual self all season, but things started to really go off the deep end following a six-goals against outing against the Tampa Bay Lightning that saw Raanta post the worst save percentage of all-time for a goaltender that played a complete game.
Following that, Raanta went on to lose his next three games before the final nail in the coffin came in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators.
The next day, 'Father Finn' went on waivers and after going unclaimed, was sent down to the AHL.
But after only two appearances with the Chicago Wolves, Raanta got the callup back to Raleigh, and ever since then, he's been a completely different player.
"Playing a couple of games in Chicago, that was different, but you kind of felt again like, 'Hey, it's just hockey. You can't take it too seriously. Just go out there and enjoy it,' Raanta said.
"It's just a part of the journey you go through in your hockey career. I knew in myself that I hadn't played how I can play and obviously there were bad results. It's never easy, but at the same time, you know that you can do the job. It was more about clearing my mind, getting that mental break. Those three days at Christmas kind of helped mentally just to forget hockey for a little bit. Then right after Christmas, I got a game at home and the win. Those are just little things that give you that confidence boost."
And while things didn't go perfectly in that first game back, the most important thing was that he got the win and the fans were once again behind him.
"When I got back up here and played against Montreal, the home fans were... you almost get a little emotional in moments where you made a save and they were just yelling your name and screaming," Raanta said. "It was unbelievable.
"Since the Montreal game, the fans have been fantastic. You make a kind of normal, easy save and the whole crowd just keeps yelling your name and they get behind you. Big thanks to them. Obviously, a couple of tough outings at home so you want to build the trust again with the home fans and earn their support. More than happy to have their support."
While Raanta credited the mental reset as a big reason for his turn around, another key aspect for him was the support of goalie coach Paul Schonfelder.
"Since I got here, Paul has been, for me, super important," Raanta said. "You're really close with your goalie coach and you can share things with what's going on in your life and if something is not working in hockey, you can share those things and you try to figure out the ways out of there. He's been my rock in the locker room and in hockey. It's just nice to have somebody who you can share things with. When you're going through a rough patch, you need somebody to have your back. It's been great to have him, for sure.
"We were calling each other all the time when I was in Chicago and it's all the time been an open relationship. When things are not going your way, it's really tough and a goalie coach's job is not the funnest thing when a goalie is struggling. How he's been dealing with everything and how he's been helping me has been 10/10. He's kind of like the dad in your hockey life and he always tries to put that smile on your face. When you're struggling it's not easy, but he still tries. Can't thank him enough for what he's been doing for me. He's a special human being and super happy to have him."
Since his reassignment when he had the worst save percentage in the league, Raanta has posted a 3-0-1 record and a 0.930 save percentage.
In back-to-back starts he's posted a 0.950+ save percentage and so at a time in which the Canes needed him most, he's stepped up to the plate and delivered.
