The Detroit Red Wings are sputtering a bit. That seems to be an excellent way to describe their recent performance. While they won against Columbus on Saturday, they lost a tough game to the Canadiens on Thursday and have had their fair share of rough games as of late.
There have been plenty of things to worry about and change for the Detroit Red Wings. However, one of the more recent issues that seems to be causing more problems than it did early on is goaltending.
While James Reimer has been serviceable in his backup role with the Red Wings, Ville Husso has not entirely played up to par. Husso struggles to keep the puck out of the net, even when the Red Wings win.
Detroit scored five goals in front of Husso, and the game became a nail-biter down the stretch after four goals from Columbus. Husso’s 3.57 GAA and .890 SV% are problems in themselves. Something has to give, but the Red Wings may have a solution in their hands.
Detroit Red Wings need to give Alex Lyon some chances.
When the Detroit Red Wings broke camp for the 2023-24 season, they brought three goalies with them. They entered the season with Husso and Reimer, leaving Lyon on the outside looking in. About a week ago, it seemed like Alex Lyon might be heading out, or maybe Reimer, if the right trade offer came in.
But now, Detroit may want to keep all three goalies and start switching things up a bit more often. Detroit has yet to play a regular season game in 2023-24 with Lyon between the pipes.
It’s a bit puzzling. Despite the hot start, the goaltending has not been great. Even in the early parts of the season, the Red Wings’ netminders were allowing goals, but the offense found ways to come out on top and continue to pad the stats with offense.
However, this has not been the case lately, resulting in losses. Something must be preventing the Red Wings from starting Lyon, but the team needs to get him into a game sooner rather than later to see how he fares.
If Husso continues struggling, running out of gas, as he did in 2022-23, then the team must turn to other options. Lyon is that option for the Red Wings. Detroit needs to put some faith in Lyon and see what he can do. Give him a spot start and let Husso take a rest.