Frederik Andersen lifts Stanley Cup second for getting Hurricanes to final

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The team captain gets to lift the Stanley Cup and the biggest question is which teammate gets it second.

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The answer after the Carolina Hurricanes' clinching 3-0 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights: Captain and playoff MVP Jordan Staal handed it to goalie Frederik Andersen.

"I did not expect that," Andersen told ABC.

Andersen didn't play - or dress - in the last three games as Brandon Bussi started and excelled for three consecutive wins. But the Hurricanes would not have reached the final without the play of Andersen, who went 12-1, with a 1.44 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage in the first three rounds.

"He's the reason we're here," Bussi told ABC. "He's a workhouse. I only got 3 1/2 games. He obviously deserves more of the credit. He's worked so hard for this and grinded so long."

Andersen, in his fifth season in Carolina, clinched a trip to the final with a Game 5 win against the Montreal Canadiens soon after the death of Claude Lemieux, his longtime agent.

Both Andersen and Vegas' Carter Hart had a tougher time in the final than in earlier rounds. Bussi went into the net in Game 3 with the Hurricanes trailing 4-0 in an eventual 5-4 double-overtime loss.

Coach Rod Brind'Amour told ABC on Sunday that Andersen was "a little nicked up" and "not 100 percent."

"I so proud of the team we have here," said Andersen, who has battled injuries in his 13-year NHL career. "It's shown throughout many years, but this year specifically. There's been so many guys stepping up at certain times and it just really shows how good of a team we've been."

One of those stepping up was Bussl.

The Hurricanes also used two goalies in their 2006 run as Cam Ward replaced Martin Gerber in the first round. Bussi's arrival happened later.

His arrival to the league also happened later as he picked up 31 wins at age 27 in 2025-26 when the Hurricanes gave him a chance at his first NHL action.

Bussi, now a household name, hugged Andersen and also Brind'Amour after the clinching shutout win.

"He believed in me," he said of Brind'Amour. "He gave me that shot. I'll always be forever grateful."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jordan Staal hands Stanley Cup to Frederik Andersen: Here's why

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