- Brind’Amour won’t name his Game 4 starter until after Monday’s practice
- Bussi made 18 saves in relief after Andersen got pulled in Game 3
- Read below for the full quotes and video of Bussi’s penalty shot stop
Rod Brind’Amour has a goalie decision to make, and he’s not sharing it yet.
The Hurricanes coach was asked on a video call Sunday whether Frederik Andersen or Brandon Bussi starts Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Golden Knights. His first answer was “I don’t anticipate any changes,” but when a reporter pushed on whether that locked in Andersen, he backed right off:
“We’ll make all the decisions after we practice tomorrow, see how he’s feeling. I haven’t made any decisions on the lineup, so I can’t tell you.”
Chip Alexander of the News & Observer relayed the exchange from Sunday’s call:
Andersen played every minute of Carolina’s first 15 playoff games and went 12-1 with a 1.41 goals-against average and three shutouts through the first three rounds.
His Cup Final numbers tell another story. Vegas has tagged the 36-year-old for a 4.44 goals-against average and an .815 save percentage, and he got the hook after allowing four goals on 16 shots in Saturday’s double-overtime loss.
Bussi gave his coach something to chew on. The 27-year-old made 18 saves in his playoff debut, including a stop on Mitch Marner’s penalty shot early in the third period, and the only puck that beat him was Shea Theodore’s bank shot off the end boards in double overtime.
Watch Bussi shut the door on Marner in this video:
Brind’Amour was also asked Sunday how he felt about Andersen’s play in the series, and he defended his veteran:
“Obviously, don’t want to give up some of the chances we’ve given up, but, overall, I thought he’s been fine. You’ve got to ask him to make the saves that he’s got to make, and I think he’s done that. A couple of bounces, they are what they are, so he’s been solid for us. ‘Bus’ came in and was solid for us, so that’s got to continue.”
Whoever gets the net has a mess to clean up in front of him. Vegas has outscored Carolina 7-1 in the second period through three games, and Marner did most of his Game 3 damage in that frame.
Carolina trails the series 2-1. Game 4 goes Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, and the goalie call comes after Monday’s practice in Vegas.
