Last night the Carolina Hurricanes picked up a 4-3 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings. The game was what I predicted as my Stanley Cup Finals for this season. This one however had a different feel to it as it featured a battle of backup goalies with Brandon Bussi making his second career NHL start for Carolina. On the other side, Anton Forsberg got the start for the Kings due to starting goalie Darcy Kuemper dealing with a lower-body injury and being out. The Kings were also without Anze Kopitar who is dealing with a foot injury, he is also retiring at the end of the season. Brandon Bussi in his NHL debut stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced on Tuesday in a 5-1 win over the Sharks.
Brandon Bussi’s Second Career Start
Bussi, who got the nod last night, faced a talented Kings team that hasn’t gotten off to a hot start to the 2025-26 season. He made many clutch saves just as he did in his debut. He stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced leading to the Hurricanes improving to 5-0-0 to start the season. The stats don’t show it and despite blowing a three-goal lead last night he continues to make clutch saves that keep Carolina in the game when he’s in the net.
Bussi after two starts posts a 1.97 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. He keeps playing the way he is it’ll be hard to send him down to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL when Pyotr Kochetkov returns from his lower-body injury. The Hurricanes acquired Bussi off waivers from the Florida Panthers on October 5th. The 27-year-old goalie signed with the Panthers on July 1st.
The Hurricanes return to the ice Monday night against the Vegas Golden Knights as they continue their six-game road trip. That game will be their third game on the trip. They don’t return home until October 28th against Vegas.
