- Rod Brind’Amour says Frederik Andersen is “available” to start Game 6 of the Cup Final
- Andersen hasn’t dressed since Game 3, with Brandon Bussi winning both of his starts
- Read below for what Brind’Amour said about his goalie call with the Cup on the line
Frederik Andersen might be back in the crease with the Stanley Cup on the line.
Rod Brind’Amour said Saturday that his veteran goalie is “available” to start Game 6 against Vegas on Sunday, even though Andersen hasn’t dressed since getting pulled in Game 3.
The Carolina coach was asked if Andersen would get the call with his team up 3-2 and a title in reach:
“Maybe. We will just kind of see. I know he’s available. Whether we decide to keep it the same or play him, we’re going to make that decision. It’s nice to have everyone available.”
Andersen was the first Hurricane on the ice Saturday, going through his usual pre-practice routine before the team flew to Las Vegas:
He started each of Carolina’s first 16 playoff games. Then came Game 3 on June 6, when Brind’Amour pulled him after four goals on 16 shots, and Brandon Bussi has run with the net since.
Brind’Amour has said all week that Andersen isn’t hurt. Goalie coach Paul Schonfelder told him Monday that “Freddie needs a little break.”
Bussi has made the layoff look easy. The 27-year-old won both of his starts and stopped 23 shots in Thursday’s 4-2 Game 5 win, becoming the first goalie in NHL history to win each of his first two career playoff starts in the Final.
Brind’Amour has kept the goalie question close to the vest all series. Before Game 5, he gave reporters the same non-answer:
The numbers cut both ways. Andersen is 13-2 with a 1.89 goals-against average and three shutouts this postseason. Against Vegas, he has been a different goalie, allowing 12 goals on 65 shots across his Final starts.
Either way, Brind’Amour already called finishing off a champion the hardest game there is.
Game 6 goes Sunday at 8 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena. A win hands Carolina its first Stanley Cup since 2006, and Brind’Amour still won’t say who is starting it.
