Struggling through a tough series, Carolina must choose between their veteran workhorse and a rookie backup to try and spark a comeback and save their championship hopes.
The question plaguing many a hockey fan today is who will the Carolina Hurricanes turn to in net for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Frederik Andersen has started all 16 postseason games the Hurricanes have played in so far these playoffs, but after getting yanked in Game 3, things don't seem so sure anymore.
Andersen hasn't had a strong series at all, surrendering 12 goals against along with a sub 0.820 save percentage, and after coming in relief, Brandon Bussi stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced as he helped along Carolina's crazy comeback effort.
Because of that, many are speculating that the Hurricanes may turn to the 27-year-old "rookie" netminder.
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour isn't revealing his hand just yet, but what's the case for each goalie?
The Case For Frederik Andersen
The biggest case for Andersen is that he's a proven performer.
He has over 100 games of NHL playoff experience and he knows how to handle the emotions and the ups and downs of this time of year.
In addition, against a team with as effective of a forecheck as Vegas has, Andersen's stickhandling is such a boost, especially given how much of a weakness that is in Bussi's game.
There's also the mantra of riding the horse that got you here and Andersen has had a great playoffs up to this point.
Outside of that, how much of this series has really been on the Danish veteran too?
Sure, he hasn't come up with enough big saves to bail the team out, but they're leaving him out to dry much too often.
Carolina has surrendered 68 scoring chances so far this series, yet 31 of them have been high-danger chances.
The team has just been way too loose to allow him to settle into a game.
Andersen has the experience and the style that Carolina can rely on for Game 4
The Case For Brandon Bussi
The biggest thing for Bussi is that all year, he's found ways to win games.
Bussi was Carolina's best netminder in the regular season and was the better goaltender in Game 3 as well.
The 27-year-old rookie is an unorthodox netminder who's very aggressive in his crease and with his angles and he's had a lot of success against high-danger chances all season, something the team is struggling with.
Add in the southpaw effect and there's a lot that can confuddle opposing players.
There's also something to be said for switching things up to try and change momentum.
And if you go Bussi and things don't work out, you can still go back to Andersen for Game 5.
As a final note, I wouldn't say at all that Brind'Amour is stubborn when it comes to goaltending decisions in the playoffs. He's thrown the number two guy into big games many times before, and it typically hasn't worked out for him.
Brind'Amour turned to Curtis McElhinney in 2019 after Petr Mrazek surrendered 10 goals against in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final, but the team would go on to lose the next two games anyway.
In 2020, James Reimer and Petr Mrazek alternated starts all the way, through the qualifying and first round, before falling to the Boston Bruins.
In 2021, Brind'Amour pivoted from Alex Nedeljkovic to Petr Mrazek after falling into a 2-0 hole to the Tampa Bay Lighting in the second round. Mrazek won one game and then the Canes lost the next two.
In 2023, Antti Raanta came in for Andersen in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final following the quadruple overtime game. The Hurricanes were swept that year.
In 2024, Pyotr Kochetkov played Game 3 after Carolina went down 2-0 to the New York Rangers in the second round, losing in overtime.
In 2025, Kochetkov was once again tossed into Game 3 after Andersen went down 2-0 to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final, but had a similar fate as the year prior.
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