Brandon Bussi thrust into action for Hurricanes, nearly steals Game 3 from Vegas
For the past two months, Brandon Bussi had sat and watched as the Stanley Cup playoffs rolled on.
The Carolina Hurricanes were winning games, winning series. Frederik Andersen was the starting goaltender for the Canes every game, sharp, playing well, winning. Bussi practiced and practiced, but on game days slapped on a cap and took a seat.
Bussi answered more media questions about his pending wedding this summer than he did about the playoff games. And that after he was one of the Canes’ most compelling feel-good stories this season, taken off the NHL waiver wire and becoming a player named the team’s MVP as he strung together wins.
Bussi’s name finally was called Saturday — in the Stanley Cup Final. The Canes fell behind the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0 after the second period of Game 3 at T-Mobile Arena and Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour decided to make a change.
Bussi was up, thrown into his first career playoff game, and he knew what he was up against.
“My job was to put my head down and stop the puck,” he said.
What followed was another 45-plus minutes of riveting hockey. Bussi was in the middle of it all as the Hurricanes scored four times in the third period to tie it up, then lost in double overtime on a fortunate Vegas bounce and goal by defenseman Shea Theodore.
Theodore’s outside shot was wide right of the net, but the hard carom kicked past the stick of Canes forward Jordan Martinook by the net, hit Bussi’s left skate and bounced in the net. It was over — Vegas the winner, 5-4, and a 2-1 leader in the championship series with Game 4 set Tuesday.
“A shot from the point, I saw it all the way,” Bussi said. “It hit the yellow and shot out a lot quicker than I thought, so I guess I kicked it in.
“I kind of thought it was going to be a greasy one. Unfortunately it was in our net.”
Bussi faced 19 shots. One was on a breakaway when Vegas’ Mitch Marner, whose natural hat trick in the second period had Vegas fans giddy and hurling caps on the ice, drove the net past Sebastian Aho. Slashed on the play, Marner then had a penalty shot.
But Bussi knocked that away, and the Canes soon were fighting back.
“We’re a resilient group. We don’t give up,” Bussi said after the game. “There were a lot of times in the postseason we showcased that in the playoffs.”
Of coming into the game, Bussi was the first to say, “We probably could have been a little better for Freddie in the second.” He also said he was not nervous but able to remain “even keel,” as he did during his first NHL season.
“These are the moments you want to be playing in,” he said. “I just wanted to put my head down and have fun with it. The Stanley Cup finals is cool, right? The result wasn’t cool.
“It was a great effort by us. We had our chances in overtime. To win the Stanley Cup is hard. So we put this one behind us.”
Across the Canes locker room, after the toughest of losses, forward Jordan Martinook patiently stood and answered questions. despite the dejection that was a shared emotion this night.
Martinook was part of the sudden third-period surge that had the Canes score three times in 39 seconds to make it a 4-3 game before Andrei Svechnikov’s late power-play goal tied it. Martinook had the first goal, with 12:57 left in regulation, soon to be followed by scores from Taylor Hall and Jordan Staal.
“We get that one and it seemed like the game turned,” Martinook said. “We needed something good to happen to us.”
And Bussi was good. That also happened.
“He was incredible.” Martinook said. “I think his first shot was a breaker (breakaway) and then the penalty shot against Marner. But we know we’ve had two good guys all year. We had a ton of faith in ‘Bus’ and he played great when he got in there.”
Given Bussi’s play, could he be the Game 4 starter and not Andersen? Brind’Amour would not to commit to that.
Bussi said he “absolutely” would be ready but said, “It’s not my call. Fred’s the reason we’re here right now.
“They tell me I’m going, great. If not, I’ll be ready.”
Just as he has been the past two months.
This story was originally published June 7, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Brandon Bussi thrust into action for Hurricanes, nearly steals Game 3 from Vegas."
