Brandon Bussi will make his first career playoff start tonight in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, per Renaud Lavoie with TVASports, as the Carolina Hurricanes turn to their rookie netminder with the series hanging in the balance. The Vegas Golden Knights lead the series two games to one, with puck drop for Game 4 set for 7 p.m. CT at T-Mobile Arena.
It’s a remarkable spot for a 27-year-old who began the season as insurance. Undrafted and a career AHLer until this year, Bussi signed with Florida on July 1 before Carolina claimed him off waivers on October 5. When Pyotr Kochetkov‘s lower-body injury limited him to nine games, Bussi seized the net, going 31-6-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .895 save percentage across a team-high 39 starts.
Still, he hadn’t seen a second of playoff action until Saturday, and he made it count. Entering Game 3 down 4-0, Bussi stopped the first 18 shots he faced, including a Mitch Marner penalty shot, while Carolina ripped off four straight third-period goals (three in a Cup Final-record 39 seconds) to force overtime. Shea Theodore‘s double-OT winner, a bank off the end boards and Bussi’s pad, was the only blemish.
The decision says as much about Frederik Andersen as it does about Bussi. After a dominant 12-1 run through three rounds with a 1.41 GAA, the 36-year-old has been tagged for 12 goals on 65 shots in this series, a 4.44 GAA and .815 save percentage. Andersen also took a hit to the head in Game 3 and didn’t skate Monday in what the team called a maintenance day.
Rod Brind’Amour kept his decision quiet until the last possible moment. Now the suspense shifts to whether Bussi can help the Canes tie the series at two.
Rod finally lost his patience with Andersen. He wasn’t even a back-up in Game 4.
He got some well-earned rest. He is hardly on the shelf.
they also said he got injured from the head contact on Barbashev’s Goalie interference on the 2nd disallowed goal