Goalie controversy, or embarrassment of riches? Carolina Hurricanes must decide
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- Game 1 is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at Lenovo Center against Ottawa.
- Carolina’s Game 1 starting goalie remains undecided according to coach Brind’Amour.
- Canes could choose between Frederik Andersen, Brandon Bussi, or Pyotr Kochetkov.
The Carolina Hurricanes open the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday with a 3 p.m. game at Lenovo Center.
The NHL made that official Thursday and released the rest of the league’s playoff schedule early Friday morning. Game 2 of the Canes-Senators first-round series is set for Monday at 7:30 p.m. before the series shifts to Ottawa for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Saturday.
The biggest question for the Hurricanes remains who the starting goaltender will be in the playoff opener, and Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour did not provide an answer after a Thursday practice at Invisalign Arena.
“We’ll get to that when we have to. We’ve got another practice day here, and we’ll figure it out after that,” he said.
The Hurricanes have veteran Frederik Andersen and Brandon Bussi both ready and willing to jump in net. Pyotr Kochetkov, who has returned from lower-body surgery quicker than some expected, could become a third option as the playoffs unfold.
Andersen has the edge in playoff experience. But Bussi has become one of the NHL’s best feel-good stories this season and finished off the regular season looking sharp in back-to-back road games at Philadelphia and then against the New York Islanders.
“We have a decision to make,” Brind’Amour said. “Is it likely you’ll see both? Probably.”
Kochetkov, who has not played an NHL game since Dec. 20, was in for a total of three periods in parts of two games in a conditioning stint with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. He was recalled by the Canes and scheduled to start Tuesday against the Isles, taking the ice at UBS arena for pregame warmups.
He then quickly exited because of what the team called a “roster technicality” and Brind’Amour said was a “little mishap,” leaving Bussi to start and the emergency goaltender to serve as his backup with Andersen unavailable. Bussi, a Long Island native who had a lot of family at the game, stopped 28 of 29 shots in the 2-1 win.
On the Kochetkov snafu, Brind’Amour said: “He was called up and, I don’t know, missed a form that you’re supposed to fill out, from what I understood. The league wasn’t going to give you a pass on that. ... It was a tough spot to put ‘Bus’ in, and he did a great job.”
Brind’Amour noted the Canes were hoping to see how Kochetkov handled the start and get a better gauge on his form heading into the playoffs.
“He’s certainly healthy, but I wouldn’t call him an option, yet,” Brind’Amour said “But it looks like we could if we have to.”
Andersen, 36, has 85 games of playoff experience with the Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs and the past three seasons with the Canes. He has been in 32 games with Carolina, posting a 19-12 record as Carolina twice reached the Eastern Conference Final.
“Every game is a time to leave it all out there,” Andersen said Thursday of the playoff mindset.
For Bussi, 27, it’s all new and different, just as his first NHL season has been. Claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers just before the season began, he made his NHL debut with the Canes on Oct. 14 against San Jose, became the fastest goalie in NHL history to reach 25 wins and finished the regular season with a 30-6-2 record.
“He’s been incredible, coming in like that and playing as well as he had, and not just a flash in the pan but the whole season,” winger Seth Jarvis said Thursday. “It’s been awesome.”
Bussi said Thursday neither the season workload nor playing the back-to-back set to end it were that taxing on him.
“I feel good,” he said. “Physically, feel good. Body feels good. Playing wise, I feel good, too.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 5:30 AM.
