Detroit Red Wings

Depth of Success: Quick Four of a Kind For Red Wings

Quartert of netminders winning for Detroit

Published

1 month ago

December 18, 2024

Bob Duff

Back in action Wednesday, Alex Lyon is one of four Red Wings goalies with a win this season.

Alex Lyon will be back in the lineup for the Detroit Red Wings Wednesday as they face the Philadelphia Flyers at Little Caesars Arena.

Will he be back between the pipes?

Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde is playing it coy on that subject.

“Undecided on him starting,” Lalonde told the media following Tuesday’s practice. “I still want to talk to my staff and the medical crew, but he’ll be available.”

Derek Lalonde said Alex Lyon will
Be available tomorrow, but is still undecided as to who will start. Talbot will likely be available this weekend. #LGRW

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) December 17, 2024

There’s also hope that by Friday’s start of a weekend home-and-home set with the Montreal Canadiens, Cam Talbot (lower-body injury) will be good to go.

“Hopefully we’ll have him for the weekend, but he’ll be unavailable for (Wednesday),” Lalonde said.

Red Wings Goaltending Depth Passes Test

No doubt that playing four different goalies – and suiting up five when you factor in Saturday’s backup Jack Campbell – is not an optimal situation for the Red Wings. That they’ve made it work speaks well to the volume of depth the team posseses in its goalie room.

Both Sebastian Cossa (Monday, 6-5 shootout win at Buffalo) and Ville Husso (4-2 win Saturday over Toronto) were posting their first victories of the NHL season last week. For Husso, it was his first triumph in more than a year. In Cossa’s case, the win came in his NHL debut in relief of Hossa.

Combined with earlier wins this season by both Talbot and Lyon, that makes four different goalies putting up a W for the team already this season.

“Someone gave me a stat, we’re one of the first teams to have four goalie wins (from four different goalies) in the first certain amount of games of the year, which is a good sign,” Lalonde said.

He’s likely referencing the 1993-94 season. That campaign saw Detroit gather up a club-record wins from five different netminders – Peter Ing, Vincent Riendeau, Chris Osgood, Tim Cheveldae and Bob Essensa.

Ing got the ball rolling, beating the Anaheim Ducks 7-2 on Oct. 8 in what was the first game in Ducks franchise history and Ing’s only victory as a Detroit goalie. On Oct. 18, Riendeau won 6-4 at Buffalo. Then on Oct. 27, Osgood was posting his first NHL victory an 8-3 decision over the Los Angeles Kings.

Cheveldae made it four wins from four goalies, beating New Jersey 4-3 on Nov. 20. A trade-deadline acquisition from Winnipeg, Essensa won 3-1 at Chicago on March 27 to make five Red Wings goalies with a victory.