Detroit Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso joins elite company

Detroit Red Wings starting goaltender Ville Husso is off to a tremendous start in his first season with the franchise. Husso isn’t only posting gaudy numbers; with his shutout of the Nashville Predators this past Wednesday, the 27-year-old netminder joined some elite company.

Husso is the first Red Wings goaltender to record three shutouts in the first 15 games for the Red Wings since the 20s. The others were Hap Holmes, who recorded four in 1926-27, and Dolly Dolson notched three back in 1928-29. Needless to say, Husso is off to a great start in 2022-23.

Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde praised his netminder’s performance following their 3-0 victory over Nashville.

"“Tonight was huge. This is probably the first goalie complete win,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “He stole the game. He’s been great, he’s been solid. There’s games when we’ve been really good in front of him and he hasn’t had to do a ton, but tonight he was the difference in the game. He was the best player on the ice and if he’s not that good in the second, even in the third, we’re probably looking at a different outcome.”“It starts with that position,” Lalonde said. “We are a confident group in front of him. We don’t want to get into a situation where we need him to bail us out.”"

Husso stood tall during a Red Wings 5-on-3 penalty kill. Detroit was under siege, but the third-year goaltender found a way to slam the door. Something he’s done often this season for the Red Wings.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso is off to a scorching start in 2022-23.

So far, Husso has started 13 games posting a stellar 8-2-3 record with a fantastic 0.922% save percentage and 2.36 goals against average.

Husso is just another one of those Steve Yzerman off-season additions that you look at and go, wow. The Detroit Red Wings added Husso in a trade with the St. Louis Blues this past summer in exchange for a third-round draft choice. With the selection, the Blues picked Aleksanteri Kaskimäki. Kaskimäki is currently playing for HIFK Helsinki of the SM-liiga league. The 18-year-old center has yet to record a point this season in nine games.

It’s crazy to think the Blues let Husso get away. Last season Husso started 38 games for the Blues posting an overall record of 25-7-6. Husso also enjoyed a 2.56 goals against average and a save percentage of 0.919%. Ironically, Jordan Binnington’s backup in St. Louis this season is former Red Wing goaltender Thomas Greiss.

Don’t look now, but the Detroit Red Wings currently sit third in the Atlantic Division, with 24 points in 19 games; just three points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs but two games in hand.

The Detroit Red Wings added some goaltending depth.

It’s no secret that Alex Nedeljkovic is off to a slow start this season. Knowing that general manager Steve Yzerman recently claimed Magnus Hellberg off of waivers from the Seattle Kraken, it begs the question if this move is to push Nedeljkovic.

Hellberg spent a short stint with the Red Wings last season, earning a victory in his lone start. The 31-year-old netminder is a former second-round draft selection of the Nashville Predators from 2011 but has never lived up to the hype. The Swedish-born goaltender has appeared in just six NHL games posting a sub-0.900% save percentage to go along with a 2.60 goals-against average.

With the string of injuries that have occurred in Detroit, the team had an open roster spot available, and Yzerman must have liked what he saw in the veteran goaltender to put a claim on him. If anything, Hellberg brings some injury insurance at the position over the next couple of days and, again, perhaps a way to push Nedeljkovic.

Nedeljkovic has started six games this season for the Red Wings, posting a record of 2-3-1, including an awful save percentage of 0.873% and a goals-against average of 4.33.