Goalie switch to Bussi pays off for Hurricanes in Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final

LAS VEGAS – Brandon Bussi wasn’t interested in spoiling coach Rod Brind’Amour’s shroud of secrecy.

When the Carolina Hurricanes goalie found out he was going to start Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday didn’t matter to him anyway.

“All that matters is that I found out at some point,” Bussi said of making his first Stanley Cup Playoff start.

The 27-year-old made the most of the opportunity, making 18 saves in a 5-3 victory at T-Mobile Arena that evened the best-of-7 series at 2-2.

“Obviously, it's cool to help the team win,” Bussi said. “And in regards to the future, whatever happens, I'll be ready to go.”

The identity of the Hurricanes starting goalie was a mystery – at least to everyone outside their locker room -- until Bussi led them out for the start of pregame warmups. Brind’Amour seemed to take a little pleasure in keeping the media, and the Golden Knights, guessing whether Bussi or Frederik Andersen would start Tuesday.

Andersen, a veteran of 13 NHL seasons, including the past five with the Hurricanes, started their first 16 games this postseason. The 36-year-old was pulled, however, after giving up four goals on 16 shots in the first two periods of Carolina’s 5-4 double-overtime loss in Game 3 on Saturday. Bussi played admirably in relief – his first NHL playoff appearance – stopping 18 of 19 shots and sparking questions about whether it might be time to give him his first postseason start.

As it turned out, there wasn’t much internal debate on the manner. Brind’Amour said it was settled in “about a minute conversation” with goalie coach Paul Schonfelder.

“He said Freddie needs a little break,” Brind’Amour said. “OK, so we went with the other guy.”

The additional surprise was that Andersen didn’t even dress as the backup; Carolina’s third goalie Pyotr Kochetkov did.

“If you're going to give him a break, you need to give him a break,” Brind’Amour explained. “So, to me, him dressing, and going through all that, that's not really giving him a night off. That's it.”

Whenever Brind’Amour told Bussi the decision, there was just enough time for the Sound Beach, New York, native’s parents, Rob and Lisa Bussi, to make it to Las Vegas to watch him start the biggest game of his career.

“My fiancé (Mary Raclawski) and her parents were here for Game 3, and then my parents scrambled to get here for tonight,” Bussi said. “Not easy from New York, so obviously means a lot for all the people to show up and support us.”

Bussi’s mini rooting section saw him stop Mark Stone on a short-handed breakaway on the first shot he faced 2:13 into the game. Carolina already led 1-0 on Logan Stankoven’s goal at 1:06 and Jackson Blake scored at 3:28 to make it 2-0. Vegas’ second shot was also a Stone breakaway. That time, the Golden Knights captain got the best of Bussi by tucking a forehand around his left pad to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to 2-1 at 7:22.

By the end of the first period, Carolina’s lead was 3-1 and Bussi had settled into a rhythm with five saves.

“Obviously, getting some work early, shots or zone time stuff, makes it a little easier to get engaged,” Bussi said. “But I think it's a back-and-forth game, right? Goalies making saves here and there.”

The Hurricanes’ second period struggles in the Cup Final continued and the score was tied 3-3 heading into third. Bussi shut the Golden Knights down after that making nine saves in the third period to earn his first postseason win.

"He was phenomenal,” Brind’Amour said. “He got a taste of it the other night and kind of just picked up right where he left off, I thought. We gave up a couple breakaways early, some breakdowns. He was just really solid all night. Gotta give him a lot of credit.”

It’s been a career-changing season for Bussi, who began the season with the Florida Panthers and was claimed off waivers by the Hurricanes on Oct. 5. With Andersen struggling at times and Kochetkov limited by a lower-body injury that required surgery, Bussi ended up leading the Hurricanes with 39 starts.​

He went 31-6-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average, .895 save percentage and two shutouts, but watched Andersen play every minute in the playoffs until he replaced him to start the third period in Game 3. Three days later, he earned his first playoff win in the Stanley Cup Final.

“He was unbelievable tonight,” Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers said. “To go out and put a performance on like that after not playing for a while is impressive. But we have confidence in our goalies, and he’s been coming to the rink every single day with a smiling face and been working really hard. So, we knew he was ready for it and he showed that.”

Now, the question becomes whether Bussi will start again in Game 5 in Carolina on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC) or will Brind’Amour go back to Andersen. Brind’Amour sounded postgame like he might keep the answer a secret again.

"We'll make that decision tomorrow at some point, more than likely, or maybe even the morning of the game,” he said. “I don't know, but I'm not making any decisions yet.”