RALEIGH, N.C. — One man’s little break is another’s big break.
“Freddy needs a little break,” Carolina Hurricanes goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder informed head coach Rod Brind’Amour after it all fell apart in the second period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The conversation lasted all of 60 seconds before Brind’Amour was tapping Brandon Bussi, who backstopped a failed four-goal comeback Saturday in Las Vegas, then stood tall two nights later, escaping the Fortress with a 5-3 Game 4 win and a 2-2 series reset.
Brind’Amour had no hesitation going to his journeyman backup, whose 27 years of patience are finally paying off.
From a Canes perspective, this best-of-three Stanley Cup joy ride is now playing out like 1994’s cinematic masterpiece Speed: Their fate depends on the Bus. (Game 5 is Thursday, Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.)
Hop aboard. Buckle up. Grip tight.
In surrendering two two-goal leads but surfacing with a must-win Tuesday, Bussi became the first-ever undrafted goalie to make his first career playoff start in the Stanley Cup Final.
He was also just the third goalie in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to make his first playoff start in the final, joining Andrei Vasilevskiy (2015) and Jussi Markkanen (2006).
This after enduring multiple drafts without a phone call, toiling through 111 AHL games, bouncing between three different NHL systems, and getting discarded for nothing by two of the East’s last great Cup contenders, the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers.
“Personally, I feel like I will be able to appreciate this more after the season’s over,” the Sound Beach, N.Y., native said, following the biggest win of his life.
The man has been quick to lock in (see: stoning Conn Smythe fave Mitch Marner on a penalty shot mere minutes into his playoff debut). But Sportsnet rinkside reporter Kyle Bukauskas drilled the goalie high and left of the logo when he showed Bussi footage of his parents, Ron and Lisa, celebrating their boy’s first playoff win postgame.
“That’s pretty special. They’re the reason I'm able to do what I’m doing right now. Their sacrifice means everything. And, yeah, they’re the best,” said Bussi, getting a little verklempt. He stopped tears from falling like a Jack Eichel attempt from the flank.
“I can’t believe you guys just did that to me on TV. It’s special. That’ll be a memory I’ll have forever.”
Bussi’s parents and his fiancée, Mary Raclawski, scrambled to fly to Las Vegas so they could catch the journeyman’s big break.
“Not easy from New York,” Bussi said. “Means a lot for all the people to show up and support us.”
What’s crazy is not that Bussi is making his playoff debut now. What’s crazy is that it took so long.
The Brind’Amour era has been defined by a rotating cast of netminders. So much so, Carolina’s skaters have admitted to not knowing (or caring) who’s in the pipes on any given night.
Frederik Andersen’s remarkable run of 16 consecutive starts to drive this run at age 36 always felt like a blessed hot streak, augmented by manageable opponents, mop-up defence and between-series rest.
Way back in April, we singled out Bussi as the one player to define Carolina’s post-season. Until the weekend, we felt foolish for the bet.
“Let’s see if the late-blooming, unproven Bussi — already rewarded with a three-year contract extension — can give Carolina a fresh feel in the pipes,” we wrote, two long months ago.
Well, that is precisely what is happening.
In a series where next save wins and Vegas’s formerly stellar Carter Hart has submitted a .861 save percentage, the fresh and focused Bussi (.900) has fast become the best goalie of the Cup Final.
“To come in and do what he did is very special. He’s been incredible for our team all year, so we knew what he’s capable of,” says forward Jackson Blake, who had no clue Andersen was at the hotel resting until he arrived at T-Mobile Arena to play Game 4.
“But it doesn’t matter this time of the year. You’ve got to be at your best — and he was. So, it’s awesome.”
Bussi has a motto that could not be more fitting, considering his Round 4 foe: HOUSE MONEY. You can buy the snapback hats online.
Everything is gravy for the fastest goalie in NHL history to reach 10 wins, the latest unlikely rookie goalie with a chance to come pop up and deliver the city of Raleigh a championship.
“He was phenomenal,” said Brind’Amour, noting the importance of Bussi’s rust-shaking relief work in Game 3. “He got a taste of it the other night and kinda just picked up right where he left off.
“Every day, he’s just happy to be here, grateful for any opportunity that he can get. And to be honest, pretty much every time we've given him any type of opportunity, he seizes the moment. That's what he did the other night, too. He came in, clearly was solid.”
To look back on Bussi’s Cup journey is to shake your head.
But with Thursday’s pivotal Game 5 at home beckoning, the goalie is only staring forward.
“Next win’s always the best one,” Bussi smiles.
