Brandon Bussi will take the net once more for the Hurricanes when they face the Golden Knights in Game 5 on Thursday at Carolina, following his impressive 18-save performance in his debut Stanley Cup playoff start during the team’s Game 4 victory.
The Stanley Cup Final stands even at 2-2 in the best-of-seven matchup.
“‘Bus Man’ has been great,” said Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal. “It’s not an easy job stepping in and doing what he did, and he’s going to have to keep doing that if you want a chance. He’s a big goalie that battles hard and grinds and finds ways to get wins, so we’re happy with any goalie that’s in our organization that’s in the net.”
The 27-year-old netminder took over for Frederik Andersen, who had been struggling after giving up 12 goals on 65 shots during the series’ opening three contests. Bussi entered during the third period of Saturday’s 5-4 double-overtime defeat in Game 3, where he turned away 18 of 19 shots in relief duty.
Over his last two game appearances, Bussi has made 36 saves on 40 shots faced.
Andersen had been Carolina’s go-to starter for the first 16 postseason games, compiling a 13-2 record during that stretch.
