The 27-year-old goalie became the fastest NHLer to record 20 career wins, surpassing Andrew Hammond of the Ottawa Senators and Bill Durnan of the Montreal Canadiens.
It took Brandon Bussi 24 games to become the fastest NHLer to record 20 career wins. But don't call the Carolina Hurricanes goalie an overnight success.
As a 27-year-old journeyman, Bussi's surprising "rookie season" has been a case study in perseverance.
Undrafted and unheralded, Bussi is on his third NHL team after toiling in the minors for parts of four seasons with the Boston Bruins organization. On July 1, he signed a two-way contract with the Florida Panthers on the first day of free agency, only to be placed on waivers three months later. Carolina claimed him, and the rest is history.
"He's been getting better and better, which is great," coach Rod Brind’Amour told Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News after Bussi stopped 21 shots in a 5-4 win against Utah on Thursday. "Early, he was good, but now he seems to just be settling in. That's two points that he got for our group. Wasn't much else going on tonight. We need that when we don't have our best game. You need the goalie to come up big, and he did."
For a team that has suffered through with injuries and inconsistencies in net, Bussi's emergence could not have come at a better time.
Pyotr Kochetkov is likely out for the remainder of the season after electing to undergo surgery for a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Frederik Andersen has won just two of his past 13 starts. That means the Hurricanes' hopes of getting over the hump and winning a championship now rest with a goalie who has only made 24 career starts.
Then again, it wouldn't be the first time a first-year goalie from Carolina went on a Cinderella-type run to hoist the Stanley Cup.
"I think it's early, but we're 51 games in, and for me, he gets the nod," former Hurricanes goalie and current NHL analyst, Kevin Weekes, told The Hockey News on Friday. "That's nothing against Freddy. I'm a big Frederik Andersen fan. But if we're starting tomorrow, I would say he gets the first start.
"You've got to ride the hot hand."
It was 20 years ago when a 22-year-old Cam Ward went from appearing in 28 regular-season games as a rookie to taking over starting goalie duties from Martin Gerber in the playoffs. Ward, who won the Calder Trophy that year, helped the Hurricanes win their first — and only — Stanley Cup.
Bussi is one year too old to be considered an NHL rookie. But like Ward, who went 15-8 with a 2.14 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in the playoffs, Bussi is showing no signs of lacking experience or confidence.
Since making his debut in October, Bussi has gone 20-3-1 with a 2.22 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
"The biggest thing for me is he hasn’t looked overwhelmed at all," said Weekes. "There’s always a transition. But at no point has he looked uncomfortable. That’s a real redeeming quality.
"I just like the way he competes in the net. In the amount of games he’s played , he’s been great. What he’s doing is unprecedented."
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