Bussi living dream with 'unbelievable' play for Hurricanes in Stanley Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. – There were not even two minutes gone in the third period when the chant went up again, “Bussi! Bussi! Bussi!” It was not the first time the capacity crowd at Lenovo Center had cheered on the goalie and wouldn’t be the last, as they embraced a hero as unlikely as any in this Stanley Cup Final.

Brandon Bussi had just made a stop on Brett Howden, at 1:40 of the third, with the Vegas Golden Knights forward – the one with 14 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs – bearing down on him in the crease, with the goalie and the Carolina Hurricanes protecting a two-goal lead.

It was a scene that Bussi would have had a hard time imagining just a year ago, when he had yet to start an NHL game, let alone one in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he was nearing his 27th birthday and still toiling in the American Hockey League for a team that had two veteran NHL goalies ahead of him on the depth chart in the Boston Bruins.

He had, of course, pictured playing in the Stanley Cup Final as a kid, “sliding cross-crease, two-pad stack, glove windmill, all the extra stuff that you probably won’t see me do,” he said.

“But, yeah, I think it’s cool to think back to that and some of those thoughts are true, being a part of it,” he continued. “It’s cool to think about it, but it’s one thing to actually do it. We’ve got a lot to still do here, but it’s nice to be one step closer.”

They are one step closer, one step away from hoisting the Stanley Cup, because of what Bussi has given them, the effort and results he has produced in the most trying of situations, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 Final after their 4-2 win in Game 5.

After not having played for two months – from April 14 to June 6 – Bussi has stepped in in relief of Frederik Andersen, becoming the first goalie in NHL history to make his first two career playoff starts in the Stanley Cup Final – and win both.

As the game went on, as the win got closer, the cheers went up again and again, on save after save, including two consecutive stops on Tomas Hertl with 1:24 and 1:22 remaining in the third. And though he’d allow two goals in the game, both to Pavel Dorofeyev (6:52 of the first, 13:49 of the third), Bussi would hold on, his calmness and confidence radiating out to the rest of the team. 

The Hurricanes will get a chance to close it out, almost certainly with Bussi in net, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Asked if he has thought about being in that position, about being so close to the Cup, Bussi said, “No. This series we’ve been trailing a lot and honestly, I think we need to keep that mindset. Like, we need to be hungry. We’re going there for Game 6 and we’re probably going to see the best version of them, and we’re going to probably see the best version of them for whatever happens.

“I think that only means that we need to continue to step it up.”

He already has. It was Bussi who made the most starts this season for the Hurricanes with 39, going 31-6-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage in the regular season.

“He had an unbelievable season, there’s no question,” captain Jordan Staal said. “He didn’t really come out of nowhere. He was kind of a diamond in the rough, and Freddie played so great. Unfortunate the way it unfolded for him. But we have so much faith in Bussi and what he can do. He played great these last two games, and we’re going to need him to continue that.”

The signs of their love and support were everywhere, from the “Bus-Si” t-shirts to the yellow inflatable suit that had been altered to read “BUS” in what appeared to be black tape. There were the chants and cheers, the towel waving after saves, the belief in a player who might just save the series and the Stanley Cup for the Hurricanes.

Because while Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart allowed four goals for the fifth straight game in this series, Bussi became the first starting goalie to allow fewer than three goals in a game, giving up two on 25 shots.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Bussi said. “I think that’s just about it. You work hard, you enjoy the moment, and you put your head down and grind.”

For days there had been questions about who coach Rod Brind’Amour would start in net, after Andersen was removed from Game 3 in the third period after allowing four goals on 16 shots. And though Bussi would take the loss in a 5-4 double overtime defeat, it was clear he’d done enough to earn the next start, especially with the uncertain status of Andersen. He got the start in Game 4, the first playoff start of his career, earning the win with 18 saves in a 5-3 victory.

He got the start, again, in Game 5, on a day that Andersen skated before the team’s morning skate, but did not dress for the game, with Pyotr Kochetkov serving as backup and the Hurricanes calling up goalie Amir Miftakhov from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Thursday.

Bussi came through.

“He’s been like this the whole season and even the last few months, where he hasn’t played,” forward Nikolaj Ehlers said. “…To be able to come in like Bussi did, not having played for two months, and then play two games in the Finals and be as calm as he is, and make the saves that he has, is incredible.”

Though Brind’Amour cast a bit of doubt when asked about the poise of the Hurricanes in Game 5, especially with their efforts in the first period, there was no question about Bussi.

“Bus had a lot of poise,” he said. “He looked pretty calm in there.”

He looked calm. He looked ready. He took the game and the win and the Stanley Cup Final all in stride. He answered questions after it was all over as if he had won a regular season game, as if he wasn’t on the brink of making all those childhood dreams come true, even if he didn’t need to go to a windmill save or a two-pad stack.

“There’s not much more to say,” Staal said. “The guy’s been unbelievable. He’s been great all year long and he battles and finds ways to make big saves and gives you a chance. He was unbelievable tonight (in) a big game for us.”