Brandon Bussi Makes Playoff Debut in Game 3 for Hurricanes
brandon bussi made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut on Saturday and took over in goal for the Carolina Hurricanes to start the third period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights. Frederik Andersen had allowed four goals on 14 shots in the second period at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, turning a tight Final into a goaltending change.
Bussi Enters For Andersen
Bussi replaced Andersen after the second period, when the Hurricanes were facing a 4 goals on 16 shots through 2 periods line against the Golden Knights. Two goals had already come off the board in the game after video review, including a Mark Stone goal erased for offside and a Jack Eichel goal wiped out for goalie interference.
The switch gave Bussi his first playoff appearance after a season that had taken him from undrafted free agent to NHL debutant. He signed with the Florida Panthers on July 1, then the Hurricanes claimed him off waivers on Oct. 5.
Andersen's Early Postseason Run
Andersen had carried a 13-2-0 postseason record into the Final, along with a 1.72 goals-against average and a.917 save percentage in 15 starts. Before Game 1 against Vegas, he had allowed two goals or fewer in 12 of his first 13 playoff starts, which made the drop-off in the first two games of the Final hard to miss.
He gave up five goals in Game 1, a 5-4 loss, then three goals in Game 2, a 4-3 overtime win by Carolina. Those two games set up Saturday's move, with the Hurricanes trying a different look for the final 20 minutes in a championship game that had already swung on reviews and a handful of high-danger chances.
Brandon Bussi's Season Line
Bussi finished the season at 31-6-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average, a.895 save percentage and two shutouts in 39 starts. That record is what brought him into the Final as an option, even before the Hurricanes asked him to handle the third period on the game's biggest stage.
For Carolina, the change created a new closing stretch in Game 3 and put Bussi in the most exposed work of his season. The rest of the night would now belong to the goalie who had not taken a playoff shift before Saturday, with the Hurricanes asking him to stabilize a game that had already required a series of video reviews and a midgame reset.
