After Brandon Bussi’s sharp Game 3 relief performance for the Carolina Hurricanes, the series shifts toward a difficult goalie decision heading into Tuesday’s critical Game 4. Rod Brind’Amour brushed off immediate changes, but Frederik Andersen’s uneven number
LAS VEGAS — Rod Brind’Amour’s incredulous reaction to a reporter’s question landed like a gut-check in the morning after one of the most intoxicating Stanley Cup Final games anyone could remember. In a Zoom call on Sunday. the Carolina Hurricanes coach looked visibly flinching when he was asked whether there were positives to take from a series where his team trails 2-1 in games and sits at 13-12 in total goals.
“That’s a really weird question,” Brind’Amour said.
The coach believes his club was “one shot away” from winning games 1 and 3 and turning this potential all-timer into a 3-0 lead. He didn’t soften that stance when he answered the question again. conceding there were plenty of positives—then immediately challenged the premise of what was being discussed.
Brind’Amour said he believes there are “a ton of positives,” before shaking his head and (accidentally?) muttered his internal monologue aloud: “What game they’re watching?”
The series. of course. is defined by what’s happening between the posts—and by how quickly one save can erase an entire argument. Every save, every coach’s challenge to uphold or erase one, has mattered. That’s why the first real goaltending debate in an otherwise cruisy postseason has felt unavoidable now.
Stick with the 36-year-old Frederik Andersen, who has been Carolina’s preferred option in this series, or go younger and fresher with Brandon Bussi, the goalie charged with the Game 3 loss who still turned in the better performance?
Brind’Amour said he doesn’t anticipate “a lot” of lineup changes for Tuesday’s critical Game 4. He also didn’t use that moment to double down on Andersen beyond what’s already been clear—he doesn’t plan to make decisions right away.
“We’ll talk about that after practice tomorrow,” Brind’Amour said. “But I don’t make any decisions now. We’ll see how guys are feeling and stuff like that.”
The numbers don’t back up a simple answer. Andersen came into Round 4 as a Conn Smythe contender, but he has started twice as many losing efforts as he did throughout Rounds 1, 2, and 3 combined. His save percentages this series read: .783, .885, .750.
And against Vegas this season, Andersen has played five games, winning once. His goals against in those contests are three, five, five, three and four. Those figures don’t include the three pucks that crossed Andersen’s line but were called back correctly.
Still, the coach insists the goalie has been doing what’s required. Brind’Amour defended Andersen by arguing Carolina needs him to make the saves he’s been asked to make.
“You obviously don’t want to give up some of the chances we’ve given up. But overall, I thought he’s been fine. You ask him to make the saves that he’s got to make, and I think he’s done that,” Brind’Amour said.
He referenced Andersen’s night during a double-OT epic that ended before the halfway mark of the second overtime period, where the game’s middle stretch—Period 2—appears to have been a turning point.
Brind’Amour also brought up the usual hockey truth: bounces don’t care about resumes. “A couple bad bounces; they are what they are. He’s been solid for us. Buss came in and was solid for us, so that’s got to continue.”
There’s another layer to the decision beyond the save percentages and the moments. Andersen took a blow to the head from a crease-crashing Ivan Barbashev on Saturday. It apparently didn’t bother the concussion spotter.
Before Game 3, Andersen gave a rare read on how he saw his own play. “Different moments have been good and a little scrambly at times. But. yeah. just continuing to try to find a way to make that next save. ” Andersen assessed his performance prior to Game 3. adding: “We’ve had the same mentality as a team. where there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the series and playoffs.”.
The health element and the performance element overlap in a series where there’s no room for uncertainty, only answers.
That’s where Bussi’s case gets heavier. An extremely well-rested Bussi hadn’t seen action since April 14. He came in cold under pressure on Saturday and was immediately sharp. In 45:26, he posted a .947 save percentage before Shea Theodore’s bank shot off the end-boards froze the clock.
Bussi didn’t just stop shots. He was in the net for all four of Carolina’s rally goals. He also came through against Conn Smythe favourite Mitch Marner, stopping him with his right-handed glove on a critical third-period penalty shot.
Brind’Amour credited that lift—and. at least in his tone. made it clear he wanted the hockey that followed to reflect it. “(Bussi) gave a little boost. He made a great save on Marner there, gave us a chance. Tough break. Hate it for him because he was playing great. That’s hockey,” Brind’Amour said about Theodore’s winner.
He added that the Hurricanes had “a couple days to reassess how we’re going to go about the next game,” while still acknowledging the emotional problem for Bussi: there was “nothing he can do” about Theodore’s funky winner.
“I hate that’s the goal that kind of ended it, because there’s nothing he can do. It’s just a bad break, but he was great.”
If Bussi was “great,” then this becomes a straight question. No offence to Andersen, but the cleanest path is giving the goalie who was superior in Game 3 the crease in Game 4.
Carolina hasn’t been a one-goalie team for years. Bussi brings a refreshed look, even if it’s arriving first as a specialist and then as a potential necessity.
Brind’Amour had, in fact, hoped he wouldn’t need Bussi at all this postseason. Between Games 1 and 2, he said: “If we do, there’s something going wrong.”
But he also insisted Bussi was ready: “But he’s more than capable. You’re one play away from making a huge impact, and he definitely has the right mindset for it.”
Well—one play was all it took.
Brind’Amour’s confidence in resilience hasn’t erased the reality of the matchup. Clawing back from a 1-3 deficit against the veteran, road-ready Golden Knights feels far-fetched. Bussi offers Carolina its best shot to win Game 4.
And Andersen deserves to be recognized for the bulk of the postseason. The coach’s point was that Andersen was a major reason the Hurricanes won three rounds. Give him props for that foundation.
But now this series is on the edge of something that can’t be repaired with memory. With Carolina one shot away in Brind’Amour’s telling, the question becomes cruelly practical: do you dress the third-best goalie of the series in charge of stopping that puck?
Bussi, meanwhile, sounded ready for the weight of the room and the competition. “Obviously, everyone wants to play,” Bussi told reporters. “But Fred’s been an absolute rock. He’s been the backbone of our team. He’s why we’re where we are at this point.”
His own season work matters too. Bussi’s 31-6-2 record is a big reason Carolina earned a home-ice advantage they’ve now lost. His relief performance in Game 3 pushed the game to a fifth period.
Now it’s time for the lefty to tap gloves with the righty.
“Everyone is a main reason why we’re here,” Bussi said. “You can’t forget that. I’m fortunate to be in Raleigh and to be a Hurricane.
“You never know what’s going to happen.”
Carolina Hurricanes Brandon Bussi Frederik Andersen Stanley Cup Final Game 4 Vegas Golden Knights Mitch Marner Shea Theodore Rod Brind’Amour Conn Smythe