Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen didn't take the ice with his teammates ahead of Game 5 but skated on his own.
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes are keeping the details of the goaltending plan for tonight to themselves ahead of their Game 5 matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Andersen was not on the ice with his teammates for the club's full morning skate at Lenovo Center on Thursday.
"Everybody's available," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He skated this morning early. So that's, as far as the lineup goes, that's all I'm going to talk about. Everybody's available."
When pressed about Andersen's availability to be the backup to Brandon Bussi, if that was the direction they were going to go, Brind'Amour stuck to his script of not discussing the lineup.
Andersen did not dress in the Hurricanes' 5-3 victory against the Golden Knights in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final to tie the series 2-2.
After the game, Brind'Amour revealed that goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder said Andersen needed a bit of a break. Andersen was pulled after the second period of the Hurricanes' 5-4 double overtime loss against the Golden Knights in Game 3 after allowing four goals on 16 shots. That doesn't include two Vegas goals that were called back.
Brandon Bussi made his Stanley Cup playoff debut and helped fuel Carolina's comeback in the third period of Game 3, erasing a 4-0 lead while making 18 saves on 19 shots.
Brind'Amour recalled Bussi's debut with the Hurricanes and his ability to make stops on Grade-A chances from the opposition
"He's done nothing but earn every start that he's had," Brind'Amour said.
Bussi is 1-1 with a .900 save percentage in two appearances in the Stanley Cup final. Pyotr Kochetkov served as Bussi's backup in Game 4.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.