The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton reports that Red Wings coach Todd McLellan sees starting Ville Husso this evening against the San Jose Sharks as something of an experiment:
As Detroit looks to continue its winning ways, coach Todd McLellan will be turning to Ville Husso in net for the first time since his takeover. Husso last appeared at the NHL level on Dec. 14, when he beat the Toronto Maple Leafs for his first NHL victory in over a calendar year. Since then, he’s started three times in the AHL for the Grand Rapids Griffins, winning two of those outings including a 31-save shutout his last time out against the Cleveland Monsters on the second of the month.
“It’s our first opportunity to watch him play,” said McLellan of Husso after this morning’s skate. “And from what I’ve heard from people around the team, players included, he played really well when he was here. He didn’t get a lot of run support. Sometimes good goaltending needs help. I’m hoping that he can provide that first part and the rest of the crew can help him with everything else.”
For, McLellan, meanwhile, tonight’s game represents a chance to go up against the team with which he began his head coaching career, having jumped from being a Red Wing assistant to the Sharks head man in the summer of 2008. Of that moment, he said this morning, “You think you’re ready. You’re ready to leave Detroit and go to San Jose, and you carry yourself like you are, but you still have a lot to learn…I think the game has changed a lot since then too, so you have to evolve with it.”
