The Detroit Red Wings look like a team that's not going to miss out on the playoffs this time around. Entering Tuesday, they are 28-15-4 for 60 points through 47 games, good enough for first place in the Atlantic Division. Sure, they may not be the perfect team, but they are doing more than enough to stay atop the Eastern Conference.
One player who has really stepped up of late for the Red Wings is goalie John Gibson. The Red Wings have had their issues at goaltender over the years and that has played a major role in their missed trips to the playoffs. They made a trade this past offseason to solve this issue, and that was acquiring John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks.
To start off the campaign, Gibson looked shaky, and it seemed like the team made the trade a couple of years too late, considering how long he was on the trade block. But as of late, Gibson has shown the team that he is exactly what they've been looking for.
John Gibson is proving the Red Wings right
Gibson, for the most part, was limited for the first two months of the season, and in those games, he was shaky. Through 13 games total in October and November, Gibson recorded a 3.40 goals allowed average and a .865 save percentage, while posting a 5-7-1 record. Yes, it was a small sample size, but fans were left wondering if the Red Wings made the wrong decision.
Gibson did have a better December for the most part. In 10 games, the veteran post a 9-1-0 record, a 2.20 goals allowed average, and a .925 save percentage. Much better numbers for Gibson.
As for January, he has continued keeping pace. There was an outlier for Detroit's 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. But Gibson is currently on a four start winning streak. There was his 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 5, where he save 34-of-37 shots faced. On Jan. 8, Gibson stopped 23-of-24 shots faced in a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. On Jan.10, Gibson saved all 27 shots on goal for a 4-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
On Monday night, Gibson and Detroit faced the Carolina Hurricanes. The veteran saved 31-of-34 shots on goal in a 5-3 overtime victory. Gibson had a shutout going into the third period until Carolina capitalized on special teams to force overtime.
Now, in total, Gibson has a 17-9-1 record, a 2.75 goals allowed average, and a .903 save percentage.
The Red Wings are seeing the results they have been hoping for since they acquired the longtime Ducks goalie. If he keeps at it, Detroit could be a hard out in the playoffs.