Do the Hurricanes start Bussi in Game 3 if Andersen is healthy?
The Carolina Hurricanes have a difficult choice to make ahead of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night.
Backup goaltender Brandon Bussi was phenomenal in relief of Frederik Andersen in a 5-4 double overtime loss in Game 3, as Bussi came in facing a 4-0 deficit and stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced to allow the Hurricanes to rally to tie the game.
Now, head coach Rod Brind’Amour will have to choose between sticking with Andersen, who was excellent in getting Carolina to the Final, or making the switch to Bussi, who is certainly fresher and showed no signs of rust when forced into action on Saturday.
On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL video coach Steve Peters discussed the dilemma facing Brind’Amour as the Hurricanes prepare for a Game 4 that could go a long way toward determining the winner of this series.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Last thing I want to touch on with you is goaltending, and the big news… [Frederik Andersen is not on the ice at Hurricanes practice]. I had a former NHL goalie reach out to me mid-game, and they went, ‘Freddie Andersen’s concussed.’ He got hit pretty hard on that goal that was waved off. The fact that he’s not on the ice today after a day off yesterday, too, that’s pretty concerning for Carolina. It could be Bussi’s net.
Steve Peters: It’s interesting, when you see the guy’s carried the load for the entire playoffs, and he had an under-2 goals against average for the playoffs… but in the regular season they split time. Bussi actually played more. His numbers were better than Andersen, and look how well he played in Game 3, stopped 18 of 19. He was elite, and we’re talking breakaways, Grade-A chances… So I don’t know if this is as big of a concern as it could be. I think Bussi’s going to be fine. You do worry about Andersen and his health. It’s a guy that’s had injury issues in the past with Carolina, that has missed extended periods of time over the last few seasons. I’m not surprised to see Bussi go just on his performance in Game 3, but if injuries are a part of it, clearly, Bussi might be the guy going the rest of the way.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s live in a hypothetical world where Andersen is healthy and good to go tomorrow. Do you start Bussi no matter what?
Steve Peters: I don’t, probably. I think I go Andersen to start, just because he has been the guy and he has played so well, and he had such good numbers and he’s been winning games… I do think the leash is incredibly short. You can’t go down 3-1, so if you see a 2-0 lead again by Vegas, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bussi.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…