The Detroit Red Wings started the season 5-1. The last two weeks have been a much tougher stretch, as they’ve gone 2-4-1.
They will host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, and the outcome could alter their goaltending situation.
Ville Husso has received a majority of the starts, but he has a 3.57 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage. James Reimer, who has a 1.52 GAA and .944 save percentage, will make his fifth start of the season against the Canadiens.
Another strong effort from Reimer may force coach Derek Lalonde to re-think his goaltender rotation.
“We’re still going to re-evaluate the whole goalie big picture after (Thursday’s) game,” Lalonde said after Wednesday’s practice.
Reimer, who has been in the league since the 2010-11 season, was signed as a free agent to back up Husso.
“As a goaltender, you just want to give the boys a chance,” Reimer said. “You want to fight for them. The way these guys compete and battle, it makes it easy for us to get in the game and want to be the difference.”
With Husso patrolling the net, the Wings lost 5-3 to the New York Rangers on Tuesday. It wasn’t as close as the score would indicate, as Detroit trailed 5-0 after the second period.
“We’ve leaving (Husso) out to dry, for sure,” Detroit defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said.
However, Husso’s numbers need to improve if he is to remain the No. 1 goaltender.
“Look at our goaltending on a whole, we are almost at the bottom of the entire league in all statistical categories,” Lalonde said. “That said, full confidence in Ville, love how he’s battling.”
The Canadiens will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak. They fell 5-3 to Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Montreal’s game against the Lightning was somewhat similar to Detroit’s experience in New York. The Canadiens trailed 4-0 after the first period, then made a belated comeback.
“Whatever you do on the ice, the actions you take, how about taking care of the team mentality, not necessarily what you want to do at that time,” Tampa Bay coach Martin St. Louis said.
“What does the team need you to do at that time? I thought we were pretty good at that. To me, that has slipped away the last few games. That has made us a fragile team right now. I feel we found ourselves in the second half of that game and I’m hoping that carries into the next one.”
Opponents have scored eight goals in the last two games with defenseman Mike Matheson on the ice.
“Talking about confidence, it’s so easy to have confidence when things are going well,” Matheson told the Montreal Gazette. “When they aren’t, you have to remind yourself what kind of player you are and know, when things aren’t going well, that’s not you. I think that helps you put things in perspective. You’re able to say, ‘That’s not me’ and move on.”
Detroit won three of the four meetings with Montreal last season.
–Field Level Media
