Ville Husso Beats Toronto For First Win in More Than a Year

DETROIT — No NHL goalie prepares for the possibility that he may go 367 days without an NHL win. But the Finnish hockey culture did prepare goalie Ville Husso to have the mental toughness necessary to deal with whatever problem is thrown his way.

It’s called Fini sisu, which translates into resiliency.

Husso demonstrated he had plenty of that Saturday when he posted 24 saves to lead the Red Wings to a 4-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was Husso’s first NHL win since Dec. 12, 2023 when Husso made 33 saves to beat the St. Louis Blues 6-4.

“It feels, feels good,” Husso said. “It’s been kind of a tough go there last year, injuries and this year like no wins. So just keep, keep grinding… They teach us at a young age in Finland and just trust yourself and do your job. It’s not always easy, but it was nice to get the win for sure tonight.”

The Red Wings (12-14-4, 28 points) are still four points out of the last Eastern Conference wildcard spot, currently owned by the Ottawa Senators (32 points).

Husso had the start because Cam Talbot suffered an injury in practice Friday. Alex Lyon is also out with an injury, although he could be back this week. It’s unknown how long Talbot will be out. The Red Wings called up Jack Campbell from Grand Rapids to back-up Lyon.

“(Husso’s) been great,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “Take the Buffalo game out…But he was sharp prior to that. And even this assignment was a tough assignment. We had full intentions of playing Cam again after his performance against Philly. And then he goes down to practice and hey, you’re back in. So I think it was a really big confidence boost for him. “

Husso couldn’t stay healthy in the second half of the 2023-24 season. This year, the Red Wings sent him to Grand Rapids. He’s had some injury issues. But he has a 4-0 record with the Griffins with a 1.58 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage.

At the NHL level, Husso has save percentages of .914 or better in four of his last five starts. He has given up two goals in each of his last three decisions.

Thwarts Marner

He made some big saves early and some late, but his biggest stop of the night came against Mitch Marner on a breakaway.

” I think it’s just not even think about anything,” Husso said. “Just play hockey and I feel like I had a good mindset tonight and just whatever comes, try and stop it.

As disappointed as Husso was to be sent down, he had a commendable attitude.

“I think: Just go down there, play games, get some wins,” Husso said. “I was there almost two months. It was just I know I can play on this level and just to play games there, have some fun, like enjoy hockey and get some reps again. And I think the message even from coaches and stuff like that was just to go play and enjoy it.”

Defenseman Jeff Petry scored a pair of goals. This was ninth multiple-goal game of his NHL career, but his first since March 2, 2023 when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins.