Kulfan also addresses the Wings’ three-goalie rotation with 6-foot-6 Swede Magnus Hellberg playing in goal for the 4-1 loss against the Wild in Minnesota.
“I think Mr. Hellberg earned at least another start,” Kulfan said on the podcast. “He definitely stabilized things last night. He wasn’t at fault for the defeat. It really speaks to a lack of confidence in (Alex) Nedeljkovic. He’s struggling and they still have thoughts of the postseason and staying in contention.
“The other part of this is (Ville) Husso has played well but you’re getting into the grey area of overworking him. He really hasn’t gone through a 50- or 60-game season in the NHL. You start getting him tired and that presents a problem. There are some days off coming up so he could start the next four or five games.
“You have to figure that Mr. Nedeljkovic has fallen to No. 3 in this three-man merry-go-round. If you’re looking ahead, you really have to wonder about his situation heading into free agency this summer. Do you retain him or go in another direction? After that solid first half last season, he hasn’t been the same goalie since.”
Here are highlights from episode 81 of OctoPulse, taking the pulse of the Red Wings’ rebuild:
1:30: Wild 4, Red Wings 1
4:50: Hronek in concussion protocol after Reaves hit
7:00: Derek Lalonde on three-goalie rotation
8:50: “Lack of confidence” in Alex Nedeljkovic
11:00: Interview with Riley Brengman, a China Township native who plays for the NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked Ohio State women’s hockey team and who just appeared in three games with the U.S. national team in the U.S.-Canada Rivalry Series.
27:40: David Perron on 1,000 career NHL games
31:20: Austin Czarnik’s contributions