EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Matt Slocum is a staff photographer for The Associated Press based in Philadelphia. He has been with the AP for over 20 years, starting as a summer intern in Dallas. He has covered a wide range of news and sporting events, including 15 Super Bowls, seven Olympics and countless Major golf tournaments.
I shot this photo because the evening sun was streaming through the stadium, creating long shadows of players on the field from my photo position way up in the catwalk. We usually don’t get to shoot from these elevated positions. It's a kind of catch-all photo position at larger events where we have a team of photographers on the ground. It’s not a primary position, but it can make unique photos that you just don’t see from down below. I thought the shadows could make an interesting frame and break up all the action photos my colleagues were shooting. It just took a little time before a couple players would enter the band of light and cast their shadows.
I made this photo from the stadium catwalk with a handheld Sony A1 Mark II and 600mm lens. An elevator ride, a hike up the stands and then a few tight ladders to climb. I tried to pack light, but didn’t. No going up and down for forgotten items. Dodging cables and ducking beams. Shooting through the stadium lights. Searching for ethernet lines that worked. Trying not to look straight down.
I think this frame works mainly because of the players’ body language and the ball — still flying in — are mirrored and exaggerated by the long shadow. The players' strained faces is a nice bonus.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Brazil's Raphinha (11) and Morocco's Achraf Hakimi go up for a head ball during the World Cup Group C soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Hours before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Rod Brind'Amour praised Brandon Bussi while also expressing some measure of relief that the Carolina Hurricanes did not need to turn to their backup goaltender during this playoff run.
“Haven’t had to use him, (and) to be honest, I hope we don’t because something’s gone wrong,” Brind'Amour said.
Turns out the late-blooming goaltender came out of the bullpen after all and backstopped the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup.
After Frederik Andersen was in net for every minute of the first three rounds and the start of the final, Bussi came in during Game 3 and finished out the series. He stopped 81 of the 87 shots he faced against Vegas as Andersen’s status was shrouded in mystery; the veteran from Denmark did not dress from Game 4 on because of a knee injury that was only revealed after the final was over.
“Freddie battled," Brind'Amour said. “He got a little nicked up, wasn’t 100%. I felt for him, but he got us here and then Bus took over. This is a team.”
Bussi and Andersen embraced after Game 6 ended Sunday night. Andersen, at 36 the second-oldest player on the team, was the first player captain and playoff MVP Jordan Staal handed the Cup to after getting it from Commissioner Gary Bettman.
“It’s disbelief, really," Andersen said. "I did not expect that. It really beat every emotion I could think of or what I’ve been feeling."
Bussi, a 27-year-old from Long Island, was not an unknown quantity for the Hurricanes because he played in nearly half their games this season, winning 31 of his 39 starts to help Carolina earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He got a three-year extension at a bargain-basement $5.7 million price in February.
Before the past several months, he was on track for the career of a journeyman.
Going undrafted, he spend several years in the Boston Bruins' farm system with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL and Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. Liking what they saw, the astute back-to-back champion Florida Panthers signed him last summer to be their third goalie behind Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov.
Trying to get him to the AHL in Charlotte, the Panthers lost Bussi when Carolina claimed him off waivers. He and fiancée Mary Raclawski were 10 hours into a drive from from South Florida to North Carolina when his agent called to tell him the Hurricanes had claimed him.
“The next thing you know, the following day I’m in Raleigh and I’m on the opening night roster,” Bussi said. "It’s crazy.”
Injuries to Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov thrust him into an important role for a top contender.
Bussi was even more needed in the final. He entered at the second intermission in Game 3 with the Hurricanes down 4-0. He stopped all 18 shots to allow a stirring comeback, and the only goal he allowed was the Golden Knights' winner in double overtime when the puck took a bad bounce off the end boards behind him and Bussi inadvertently kicked it in.
In the Game 6 clincher, Bussi denied playoff-leading goal-scorer Brett Howden, who got in all alone in the first period. He stopped Tomas Hertl on a 2-on-1 rush in the second, much to the joy of family members watching from the stands. Then Bussi robbed Hertl and Mark Stone on quality scoring chances in the final few minutes of regulation.
Hurricanes fans in Las Vegas chanted “Buss-i! Buss-i!” on the way to his third career shutout. A journeyman no more, Bussi is now a Stanley Cup champion.
So is Andersen.
“This is something everyone dreams of," Andersen said. "You don’t really know what it feels like until you try it, and now we’re here.”
Whyno contributed from New York.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Carolina Hurricanes celebrate goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) starting against Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)
The Carolina Hurricanes celebrates after a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) stops a shot on goal during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) stops a shot on goal during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) stops a shot on goal during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward)
