LAS VEGAS — The Carolina Hurricanes made the move to Brandon Bussi in net for Tuesday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Frederik Andersen started the first 16 postseason games for Carolina, but Bussi replaced the veteran for the third period of the Hurricanes’ 5-4 double overtime loss in Game 3.
Andersen didn’t dress for Game 4 and was a healthy scratch, according to the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov is the Canes’ backup. Kochetkov has not played since December.
Bussi stopped his first 18 across the third period and two overtimes before allowing the game winner on a bad bounce that hit his skate, leading to days of speculation about which goalie coach Rod Brind’Amour would choose.
Andersen was terrific in the early rounds, but his goals against average has climbed in each round of the playoffs. His save percentage has decreased in each round.
And now Brind’Amour is turning to Bussi, who was picked up on waivers just before the season and then won 31 games in 39 starts for Carolina. The 27-year-old rookie was rewarded with a contract extension — and a spot on the bench for the playoffs.
“Pretty much every time we give him any type of opportunity, he seizes the moment,” Brind’Amour said of Bussi in between Games 3 and 4. “That’s what he did the other night, too.”
Vegas leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.
The Hurricanes will need to be better on defense to support Bussi. The Hurricanes have given up 13 goals in three games, many of them on terrific chances for Vegas.
“We’ve given up a lot of breakaways. We’ve given up more than we’re used to and more than we expect to,” forward Jordan Martinook said before Game 4. “We need to shore up that side of the puck and it doesn’t matter who’s in the net, we need to play better defensively in front of them, limit some of those Grade A [chances] that we’ve been giving up.”
