Brandon Busey makes NHL history after beating the Capitals

Carolina Hurricanes rookie goaltender Brandon Bussey made NHL history on Thursday night, leading his team to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals. With the win, Busey became the first goaltender in league history to win 10 of his first 11 career starts.

In a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams, Bussi made 23 saves in 65 minutes and then stopped all three shots in the shootout. Seth Jarvis scored the only goal of the shootout, but it was Logan Stankoven’s tally late in regulation that forced the extra session. Stankoven tied the game with 2:15 left after a rebound bounced to him in the left circle, tying the game at 2-2 after Nick Dowd’s goal in the third period for Washington.

Bussy has been amazing to watch this season. Since being claimed by Carolina on Oct. 5, 2025, the 27-year-old has gone 10-1-0 in 11 starts, including an eight-game winning streak, tying Frederik Andersen for the second-longest streak by a Hurricanes goaltender in franchise history, behind only He bo2-0. 2.07 goals against average and .910 save percentage. Ranked 12th in the NHL with an above-expected 8.29 5-on-5 goals saved, Busey’s performance stands out even as Carolina averages 4.09 goals per game.

“It’s great. Pretty crazy. I saw nine (wins) out of 10 things, and I was like ‘ah, that’s pretty cool.’ But I didn’t really know that today we were chasing something”, Bussi he said after the victory. “Obviously, you can’t do that without a team. We play really good hockey, and I’m a small part of it, but it’s pretty cool.”

It was an unconventional climb for a rookie to reach this stage. Unretired from junior hockey, he played for multiple NAHL and USHL teams three seasons ago at Western Michigan University. Bussi signed with the Boston Bruins in 2022 and spent time in the AHL and ECHL before joining the Florida Panthers as a free agent in July 2025. He was waived by the Hurricanes before he could appear in a game for Florida.

Carolina dominated the contest early on Thursday, outscoring the Capitals 13-4 after the first period and 29-9 after 40 minutes. Connor McMichael gave Washington an early lead and Dowd made it 2-1 in the third. The Hurricanes’ persistence paid off as Stankoven and Ehlers each scored, forcing overtime. A short fight also broke out in the period between Jordan Martinuk and Daudin. In the shootout, Bussi held off Anthony Beauvillier, Dylan Strome and Sonny Milan for the win.

The win moved Carolina to 19-9-2, tying the Capitals for first place in both the East and Metro Divisions. The Hurricanes will look to keep their momentum going in Saturday’s home-and-home series against the Philadelphia Flyers.