- Brandon Bussi stopped his first 18 shots after coming in cold for the third period
- He denied Mitch Marner on a penalty shot during Carolina’s four-goal comeback
- Read below for video of Bussi’s playoff debut and what it means for Game 4
Brandon Bussi picked a wild night for his first taste of playoff hockey.
The Hurricanes netminder replaced Frederik Andersen to start the third period of Saturday’s Game 3 in Vegas and stopped all 18 shots he faced, including a penalty shot from Mitch Marner. Carolina lost 5-4 in double overtime, but its backup nearly stole a Stanley Cup Final game in his playoff debut.
Check out Bussi’s debut in the full Game 3 video highlights:
Andersen’s night fell apart in the second period. He allowed four goals on 14 shots, three of them during Marner’s record hat trick, and Rod Brind’Amour made the switch at intermission.
Down 4-0, the Hurricanes roared back. Jordan Staal, Taylor Hall and Jordan Martinook scored within 39 seconds in the third, and Andrei Svechnikov tied it with less than two minutes left in regulation.
Bussi kept Vegas off the board deep into the second overtime. The only puck that beat him was Shea Theodore’s winner, a point shot that missed the net, banked off the end boards and went in off the goalie’s skate. The bounce alone is worth a rewatch in the video above.
Brind’Amour talked after the game about the second-period collapse that dug the hole.
“I knew we were going to get going eventually, get back in the game and give ourselves a chance to win, but you can’t have those mistakes in the second period,” he said.
Now Carolina has a real decision in net. Andersen went 13-2-0 with a 1.72 goals-against average through the first three rounds, but Vegas has tagged him for 12 goals in three Final games. Bussi went 31-6-2 in the regular season and just stopped 18 straight on the biggest stage in hockey.
Carolina’s message after the loss was short and simple:
Vegas leads the Final 2-1. Game 4 goes Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena, and Brind’Amour’s goalie call will be the story between now and puck drop.
