"Bussi Over Troubled Waters": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 3: Carolina Hurricanes at San Jose Sharks

The Hurricanes are beginning a long road trip, and while they won their first two games of the season, they aren't starting it under the best circumstances. Along with their backup/1B goalie on the shelf, the team is in California without its most valuable defenseman, Jaccob Slavin. With the All-World defender nursing a lower-body injury from Saturday, the opportunity provides a big chance for several of the defensemen in the lineup, beginning with Mike Reilly, who hops into the lineup on Tuesday for the first time as a Hurricane. It was also a big night for Brandon Bussi, the last-minute waiver claim, who made his NHL debut against the Sharks. With a lot to watch, the only downside to all of this is that it had to start at 10 pm.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

CAR (1:24)- Sean Walker (1) (Sebastian Aho (4) & Seth Jarvis (1))

SJS (4:28)- William Eklund (1) (Tyler Toffoli (1) & Nick Leddy (2))

CAR (14:14)- William Carrier (1) (Alexander Nikishin (3) & Jordan Martinook (3))

CAR (18:39)- Eric Robinson (2) (Mike Reilly (1))

3rd Period

CAR (1:52)- Shayne Gostisbehere (1) (Logan Stankoven (1) & Taylor Hall (2))

CAR (7:25)- Jackson Blake (1) (Jalen Chatfield (1) & Logan Stankoven (2))

My Thoughts

For these mid-week post-9 pm starts, I'm going to write my thoughts the morning after, giving me some time to sleep on it before saying what I really want to say. On a night when Michael Misa made his NHL debut for the Sharks, I would've never guessed that Brandon Bussi, another player in his first NHL game, would be the story. It was one of the most incredible things I can remember watching, and it almost looked very different with how poorly the Hurricanes started this game. Their defense had more holes in it than Swiss cheese with how much pressure they generated and how many high-danger opportunities the Sharks had. Instead, Bussi was on his A-game. His 16 saves won't look like a lot, but the quality of those stops can't be understated. He kept the Canes from falling into a massive hole before the offense started to click. 

Once the second period rolled around, things started connecting a little more for the offense. They scored three times in the middle frame, taking a 3-1 lead on goals by Sean Walker, William Carrier, and Eric Robinson. Each goal had its own flashy aspect. On the opening goal, it was Aho's patience and toughness on the puck that drew a penalty before sliding it to Walker for a one-timer. On the second goal, it was Alexander Nikishin jumping into the play and making a smooth move to his backhand. His shot hit the post, but Carrier was there to clean it up. On the late goal, it was a combination of Bussi robbing Adam Gaudette and Mike Reilly making an outstanding stretch pass to a streaking Robinson. The finish wasn't bad either, sliding it through Alex Nedeljkovic's pads with 1:21 left to seemingly end this one early. The offense is doing everything it is without Nikolaj Ehlers scoring points. It's quite remarkable.

Late in the second period, Rod Brind'Amour made a small tweak to his lines, swapping Taylor Hall and Andrei Svechnikov. Playing Svechnikov on the fourth line feels a little crazy, but he hasn't carried over his performance from the playoffs into the first three games. Meanwhile, Hall has been on a tear, so he has earned this chance. He certainly capitalized on it. The Stankoven line was responsible for both goals in the third period to ice the game, with Hall earning the secondary assist on Shayne Gostisbehere's goal early in the period. The third was a very good period for Jackson Blake, who created the transition chance leading to the fourth goal before providing the fifth with a one-timer off the post. Svechnikov, to his credit, looked good with Robinson and Mark Jankowski. I'm not sure whether this move will be permanent, but it's hard to deny how well Hall has been playing to start the season.

Brind'Amour put it best when he said you can't replace Jaccob Slavin, but the team has no choice but to play through this stretch without him. It was a very rocky start. The chances were abundant for San Jose, but they locked it down in the third period, allowing 0 shots in the final 20 minutes. Walker (21:44) and K'Andre Miller (team-high 22:32) had good nights, backing the team to a 5-for-5 night on the penalty kill. Jalen Chatfield and Mike Reilly were called into action often, picking up an assist each, the first as a Hurricane for Reilly. Alexander Nikishin played over 17 minutes for the first time this season, extending his point streak to three games. Shayne Gostisbehere did the same, scoring his first goal of the season. This is a great early test for this defensive group, albeit one you wish they didn't have to endure.

First Star of the Game: Brandon Bussi

Instead of gushing over Brandon Bussi's NHL debut again, this is a list of all of the big stops he made in the game:

1. Glove save on Dmitry Orlov for his first NHL save

2. Toe save on Jeff Skinner in a full split against the post 

3. One-time robbery of Will Smith on the power play

4. Side-to-side saves on Smith and Tyler Toffoli on the power play

5. Breakaway save on Alex Wennberg

6. Breakaway save on Barclay Goodrow

7. Point blank save on Jeff Skinner

8. Point blank save on Adam Gaudette that led to Robinson's goal

I'm probably missing a few, but this right here should define how great his night was.

Next Up: With their trip to NorCal done, the Canes head to SoCal for two. They'll begin with the Ducks on Thursday night before finishing their California journey against the Kings on Saturday night. The fun is only just beginning in LA because they still have Vegas, Colorado, and Dallas next week to finish the road trip.