Brandon Bussi made 22 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, clinching the NHL franchise's second championship.
ESPN's scoreboard verified the final score, venue and Game 6 status. Its source article said Carolina captain Jordan Staal handed the Stanley Cup first to Frederik Andersen, the 36-year-old goaltender who had started most of the Hurricanes' playoff run before a knee issue changed the series.
Bussi Finishes The Job In Vegas
Bussi replaced Andersen in the third period of Game 3 and stopped 18 of 19 shots before Carolina lost in double overtime. From there, he won the next three games of the series, ending it with the shutout that made the handoff more than an emergency patch.
ESPN reported that Bussi, 27, made his NHL debut with Carolina this season after years as a minor league goalie. He became the first rookie goalie to record a shutout in a Cup-clinching game since Earl Robertson did it for the Detroit Red Wings in 1937.
The Final numbers backed up the moment. Bussi finished the series with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage, according to ESPN.
Andersen's Run Ends With Cup Lift
Andersen started Carolina's first 16 playoff games and won 13 of them before leaving the Final. ESPN reported he tweaked his knee in Game 2 and was scratched for the rest of the series after Game 3.
That made Staal's first pass of the Cup a pointed one. Andersen was not the goalie in net for the 3-0 clincher, but he had carried Carolina through the Eastern Conference and into the Final before the crease shifted to Bussi.
ESPN said Andersen is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next month. Bussi credited Andersen after the win, saying the veteran was the reason Carolina had reached that point.
Carolina Turns A Goalie Change Into A Title
The Hurricanes' Game 6 win was not just a clean scoreboard line. It closed a Final in which the team's goaltending plan changed in real time, with Andersen's injury pushing Bussi from long layoff to championship closer.
Bussi had been Carolina's primary starter for much of the regular season, but ESPN reported Game 3 was his first appearance since April 14. Three wins later, Carolina had its second Stanley Cup and a title story built around both goalies instead of one.