Brandon Bussi's first career playoff start was a success.
The rookie goaltender led his Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights after starting goalie Frederik Andersen was made a healthy scratch pre-game.
The victory tied the Stanley Cup Final at two games apiece as the series becomes a best-of-three starting with Game 5 in Raleigh on Thursday (8 p.m ET on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).
After the win, head coach Rod Brind'Amour told reporters that he spoke with Andersen and understood the goalie needed a break. In order to give him the full rest, Andersen did not dress.
"This is the time of year where you want to be playing or having an impact," Bussi told Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas after the game. "Circumstances happened. If my name gets called again, great. If not, I'll be ready to go."
Trailing 4-0 after two periods in Game 3, Brind’Amour replaced Andersen with Bussi, who saved the first 18 shots he faced as the Hurricanes mounted a furious rally. Bussi failed to save the 19th shot when Vegas' Shea Theodore knocked the puck off the boards and it bounced off Bussi's skate for a Golden Knights victory.
There have been blown leads of at least two goals in each game. Vegas rallied from such a deficit in Game 1 and Carolina did it in Game 2.
Then came the real doozy in Game 3 when the Golden Knights led 4-0 well into the third period before the Hurricanes scored three goals in a record 39 seconds and eventually forced overtime before Theodore's winning goal.
The Hurricanes blew a two-goal lead in the second period in Game 4 after William Karlsson and Brett Howden scored to make it 3-3 at the end of the second period.
— With files from Associated Press
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