The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood asks “what should Sebastian Cossa learn from this preseason,” and here’s what Eargood surmises:
Even if Cossa can’t boast a wealth of NHL experience, he can point to success in his limited reps. In those four combined appearances, he let in three goals on a combined 44 shots. The caveats are that he has played mostly short bursts that allow him to stay fresh, and the skill present in a preseason game pales in comparison to an actual NHL matchup. So naturally, the next step is to get Cossa acclimated against tougher competition, hence what [Red Wings coach Derek] Lalonde said about experience.
So far this preseason, Cossa has already played a full period — a 10-save shutout in Chicago to open the preseason. He was scheduled to play the third period of Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh. However, it is unclear how the game’s rescheduling will affect him given that Detroit is splitting its roster between the Penguins game and a road game in Buffalo at the same time. It’s likely that Cossa will play a period in at least one of the games; it’s just a question of which one.
All of these appearances are building up to an opportunity for Cossa to get to the NHL, a future that could be rather near. Detroit has three goaltenders at the NHL level right now — Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon and Ville Husso — but only Talbot is signed through next season. There’s a spot open for Cossa as soon as next season. Getting used to NHL work now, combined with an increased workload in Grand Rapids, could prepare Cossa to claim the backup spot a year from now.
Continued; most of the Wings’ goaltenders are not going to play entire games over the course of the next six games, so they all need to make the most of the time they receive in Detroit’s crowded crease.
