After Bussi started just six of the Hurricanes’ first 23 games, the door opened for him to play more when Kochetkov aggravated his lower-body injury in late November. Since Nov. 28, Bussi has started five of Carolina’s seven games and won them all with a 1.36 GAA, .930 save percentage and his first NHL shutout — a 16-save performance in a 1-0 victory against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 30.
So, though Andersen and Kochetkov are healthy, Brind’Amour picked Bussi to start with first place in the division and conference within reach against the Capitals.
“I don’t think we envisioned him going in an every-day rotation and or a back-to-back kind of situation,” Brind’Amour said. “But he’s earned that,”
Bussi faced only nine shots in the first two periods. One of them was Ovechkin’s one-timer from the left circle that Bussi kicked out with his right pad 3:13 into the game. Facing Ovechkin in an exhibition game with the Bruins before last season eliminated some of the awe Bussi might’ve experienced otherwise.
“I guess that starstruck feeling or the feeling of like, ‘Wow, you’re playing against him,’ wasn’t as bad today,” Bussi said. “But he’s obviously scored a lot of goals. The puck goes on his stick, it’s pretty lethal.”
The only shot Bussi didn’t stop in the first two periods was Connor McMichael’s backhand on a breakaway that gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 5:00 of the second. Nikolaj Ehlers tied it for Carolina at 1-1 at 13:43 of the second.
It was still 1-1 when Ovechkin drove to the net to take a pass from Anthony Beauvillier on the opening shift of the third period. Bussi slid to his left and stretched out his left pad to make the save at 28 seconds.
“I saw him driving,” Bussi said. “They try to get him the puck when they can, but it was a good play by them. It feels good to come up with a save.”
That was the first of 12 saves Bussi made in the third period. Nic Dowd scored on a redirection to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 11:32, but Bussi kept the Hurricanes within one goal and Logan Stankoven tied it with 2:15 remaining in regulation.
Bussi came up big again during overtime, including a blocker save on Dylan Strome on a breakaway at 1:24 and sliding to his right to make a right pad save on Ovechkin at 2:57. Then, he stopped Beauvillier, Strome and Sonny Milano in the shootout to secure his record-setting 10th win.
