- Carolina can win its first Stanley Cup since 2006 with a Game 6 win at Vegas on Sunday
- Brind’Amour says Frederik Andersen is “available” and won’t rule out a Game 6 start
- Read below for the full goalie picture and Brandon Bussi’s run to the brink of a title
The Hurricanes are one win from the Stanley Cup, and Rod Brind’Amour still isn’t saying who plays goal.
Brandon Bussi has carried Carolina to two straight wins, but the coach left the door open Saturday for Frederik Andersen to start the clincher.
Andersen hasn’t played since Bussi relieved him in the third period of Game 3. Brind’Amour was asked if the veteran could be back in net for the biggest game of the year.
“Maybe. We will just kind of see,” Brind’Amour told NHL.com. “I know he’s available. Whether we keep it the same or play him, we’re going to make that decision. It’s nice to have everyone available.”
The switch worked. Bussi stepped in cold after not playing since April 14 and stopped 18 of 19 shots in a double-overtime Game 3 loss.
He started the next two and won them both. In Game 5 he turned aside 23 shots in a 4-2 win, and his late stop on Tomas Hertl was the save of the series.
Across his three Cup Final appearances, the 27-year-old has stopped 59 of 65 shots for a .908 save percentage.
Pulling Andersen had nothing to do with his health. Brind’Amour said the veteran isn’t hurt, and that his goalie coach told him Andersen simply needed a short break.
That makes the call a tough one to walk back. Andersen has been excellent all postseason, going 13-2 with a 1.89 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and three shutouts.
Win Sunday and Carolina lifts its first Stanley Cup since 2006. Brind’Amour already called closing out a title the hardest thing his team will do, and now he gets to make the biggest lineup decision of the series.
Game 6 goes Sunday at 8 p.m. ET in Las Vegas, with the Hurricanes holding a 3-2 series lead.
