LAS VEGAS -- The Carolina Hurricanes turned their crease over to goaltender Brandon Bussi for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Starter Frederik Andersen was a healthy scratch, and Pyotr Kochetkov was the backup to Bussi. The Hurricanes trail the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1.
Andersen had started all 16 games in the Hurricanes' playoff run but was pulled after two periods in Game 3 having given up four goals on 16 shots.
Bussi entered to start the third period and stopped 18 of 19 shots, including a penalty shot from playoffs leading scorer Mitch Marner early in the third. Carolina eventually lost on a goal that deflected off Bussi and into the net on a freakish bounce off the end boards following a Shea Theodore shot.
Bussi said he was ready to go in Game 4 if called upon. "Fred's the reason why we're here right now. So if they tell me I'm going, great. If not, I'll be ready," he said Saturday. "I think these are the moments you want to be playing in. So just put my head down, have fun with it."
Andersen wasn't at the Hurricanes' skate Monday, taking what coach Rod Brind'Amour called a "maintenance day." Brind'Amour also waved away speculation that Andersen might be injured -- specifically, from a goaltender interference incident in the second period of Game 3 when Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev skated into Andersen's mask.
Brind'Amour said he enjoyed building suspense around his goaltending decision for this critical playoff game. He would only offer a "you'll see" when asked about his starter hours before Game 4.
Bussi was the team's primary starter for most of the regular season, going 31-6-2 in 39 games, with an .895 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average. Game 3 was his first appearance since April 14.
Andersen's numbers have sharply declined in the last two rounds of the playoffs. In two series sweeps of Ottawa and Philadelphia, Andersen had a .950 save percentage and a 1.12 goals-against average. Since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Andersen has a save percentage of .856 and a 2.77 GAA. Against Vegas, he has given up 12 goals on 65 shots faced (.815 save percentage).
Bussi presents a slightly different challenge for the Golden Knights. Andersen catches left-handed, and Bussi catches with his right hand.
"I don't think it really matters. Maybe if you're coming in to make a move like Mitch on the penalty shot," Vegas forward Brett Howden said. "But it doesn't really change our game. The way we want to put pucks to the net and stuff like that."