The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan filed a notebook article which discusses the Red Wings’ relative health in goal, which Wings coach Derek Lalonde does not want to jinx:
“We’d like to get there first,” said coach Derek Lalonde, who has had the benefit of three NHL goaltenders on the roster for two seasons but rarely have all three been healthy. “Someone gave me the statistic of we were one of the first teams to have four goalie wins in the first (30) games in the year. We talk about starting with three goalies and needing three goalies and here we are again, four deep (Sebastian Cossa won one game). Let’s get to three healthy goalies, and then that’ll be a good decision to have.”
Lyon went through another full practice Tuesday — he’s been doing it for close to a week now — and has been cleared to play.
When it’s time to make a decision, it’ll most likely affect Husso, who won his first game in a calendar year Saturday over Toronto. After being plagued with injuries from the second half of last season, then being reassigned to Grand Rapids the first week of this regular season after being waived by the Wings, Husso appears as healthy and productive as he’s been in almost two seasons.
But with Talbot and Lyon likely targeted to share the load with the Wings, and Cossa and Jack Campbell in Grand Rapids, Husso’s immediate future looks unclear.
Lalonde, though, is appreciative of having a third goalie who is proven and capable at the NHL level.
“We’ve been able to turn to an experienced goalie that we believed in all year, over two years,” Lalonde said. “Good on our management team thinking outside the box with carrying three goalies. It’s kept us in the battle again this year. Ville is just a genuine good person, very well liked in the room. He’s a guy you root for. A lot of adversity he’s faced has come through injury. He keeps working at it and he got rewarded for it with a quality win against a quality opponent.”
Continued (paywall)
