Bussi Goalie Leads Hurricanes to 3-2 Lead Over Golden Knights

Brandon Bussi gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 series lead over the Golden Knights on Thursday night, and the bussi goalie is now one win from the Stanley Cup. The 27-year-old picked up his second consecutive win in net, putting Carolina in position to clinch the Cup on Sunday night.

Brandon Bussi in net

Bussi, a 6-foot-4-inch former Western Michigan standout, was poised, sharp and confident as the Hurricanes handled the latest swing in the series. He is a former Bruins prospect who never played a single minute for Boston, a path that now looks very different from where it started.

The Bruins signed him as a college free agent in the spring of 2022, then watched him deliver a 22-5-4 record in his rookie pro season with Providence. That came in the same season Linus Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy, when Bussi was trying to push into a crowded goalie picture behind Ullmark, Jeremy Swayman and Keith Kinkaid.

Bruins path to Carolina

Boston originally brought Bussi in as insurance for AHL Providence while Ullmark and Swayman split time in the NHL, but he later lost his place in the development chain to Michael DiPietro. He left as a free agent last July, and Florida signed him to a two-way deal at the league minimum of $775,000, with a $400,000 guarantee if he spent the full season in the minors.

That move still left Sergei Bobrovsky entrenched as Florida’s No. 1 goalie at $10 million per season, so Bussi’s route to a playoff role stayed blocked. He also said in the summer of 2023, “I’m hoping at some point to play my first NHL game,” and, “That’s the dream you choose.”

Sunday night in Carolina

The Hurricanes can clinch the Stanley Cup on Sunday night, which would give the franchise its second title. For Bussi, the jump from unsigned college free agent to a goalie carrying a Cup Final lead is the kind of turn that shows how fast the position can open and close across one season.