John Gibson spent 12 seasons with the Anaheim Ducks before he finally got a change of scenery with the Detroit Red Wings. Gibson, who played well in Anaheim early in his career, was stuck behind a rebuilding team since the turn of the decade. So playing for a team seeking contention looked like it would work well.
But October and November weren't kind to Gibson. Gibson lasted just over 37 minutes in his debut for the Red Wings before head coach Todd McLellan pulled him in favor of Cam Talbot. Gibson gave up five goals in 13 shots, and it was a sign of things to come.
Gibson enjoyed the occasional solid outing, but he allowed four or more goals in seven of his next 12 appearances. Fans were frustrated, going into December, believing their prize offseason acquisition was a bust.
His numbers by the time November ended? He had a 4-7-1 record, a 0.865 save percentage, a 3.59 GAA, and zero shutouts. Wings fans didn't have high hopes for Gibson in December, especially after he allowed another four goals in a narrow 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins.
John Gibson proceeded to flip the script in December
Right when things started looking horrendous for Gibson, he at least helped the Wings eke out a win over the Bruins. Then, he was lights out, winning all but one game in December before kicking off January by allowing just five goals on 67 shots, good for a 0.926 save percentage.
Since the beginning of December, Gibson is 10-2 with a 0.925 save percentage, a 2.26 GAA, and two shutouts. Over the past month, Gibson has played like a goaltender deserving of the Vezina Trophy if he keeps up this play. But the question is, will he?
Players and entire teams can have outstanding stretches, or even a month where they look elite before crashing back to reality. And Gibson is playing behind a team that has forgotten how to shoot the puck, so there's a good chance the Wings will be even more reliant on him as the month of January progresses unless they can fix their scoring woes.
Is John Gibson up for the challenge behind a stagnating Red Wings team?
On Jan. 3, Gibson once again put up an MVP performance, allowing two goals on 29 shots, giving a Red Wings team that logged 12 shots all game a chance to win. Unfortunately, the Wings lost that game 4-1 after allowing two empty-netters, and Gibson's efforts were wasted.
Gibson returned to the net on Jan. 5 and made 35 saves, helping the Wings beat an Ottawa Senators team that outshot them 38 to 21. Very few goaltenders can keep up those kinds of performances if their skaters aren't pitching in with consistent help, and Gibson is no exception.
Add that to the fact he looked like one of the NHL's worst goaltenders early in his tenure with the Wings, and there are no guarantees Gibson will keep bailing out the Red Wings. His best bet is for the Wings to break out of their slump of not getting shots off.
If that happens, then Gibson can easily keep playing like one of the NHL's better netminders. Should the Wings' shooting woes continue, it's going to be a lot harder for Gibson to keep playing lights out. If you're a Red Wings fan, hope that your team will start getting more pucks to the net and to put as little pressure on Gibson as possible.