Start Sebastian Cossa before it's too late, you cowards

Finally, the Detroit Red Wings snapped their five-game winless streak. Barely. When you thought perhaps you were witnessing head coach Derek Lalonde pacing on the Red Wings bench for the last time, Moritz Seider saved the day with his game-tying goal late in the third period.

On Monday night, the Red Wings accomplished something they became familiar with last season but have struggled to achieve this year: overcoming a third-period deficit. Trailing 5-3 as they entered the final period, Detroit surged back to defeat Buffalo 6-5 in a shootout.

Despite continuing to start Ville Husso (four appearances in a row) with Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon on the shelf with lower-body injuries, top prospect Sebastian Cossa entered the game to begin the second period, making his NHL debut. He'd also make history, becoming the first NHL goaltender in history to win his NHL debut via a shootout in a relief effort. He allowed two goals on 14 shots over his two-plus periods of work.

The Detroit Red Wings need to give Sebastian Cossa more work if Cam Talbot isn't quite ready to return.

I can't say with authority that Derek Lalonde was going to be fired if Detroit lost their sixth straight game this past Monday, but his coaching decisions over the past week suggest he's starting to feel the pressure. With Talbot and Lyon sidelined, Lalonde continued to start the veteran Husso, who he clearly felt the most comfortable with in goal despite having the top prospect sit on the bench. I'll be the first to say that when the injuries began to mount, I thought Detroit would call up Jack Campbell despite not playing yet this year after entering into the NHLPA player's assistant program just before the start of the season. Campbell had just returned, and the Red Wings needed a goalie at the NHL level. If they had planned on riding Husso, calling up Campbell to warm the bench for a week and enter a game in relief, he'd be the guy. If Detroit called up Cossa, I thought it would be to split time with Husso.

As you know by now, I was incorrect. The organization has sat Cossa on the bench in Detroit while allowing Campbell to make a couple of starts for the Griffins. Since his return to action, Campbell is 0-2 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a 0.919 save percentage.

If you ask me, Detroit botched Cossa's debut. This should have been a planned start in Buffalo after Husso had appeared in four and started three straight games. The organization should have had Cossa's family in attendance to commemorate the special day. Instead, the 6-foot-6 goaltender was pressed into duty cold after not seeing game action for a week. After a shaky start, you could tell he began to find his groove, and the comfort level followed. Cossa didn't look great in the second period but really started to impress in the third frame and the shootout. At least Dylan Larkin, who scored the winning shootout goal, was aware enough to grab the puck right after scoring and present it to Cossa following the game.

With the season all but slipping away, Lalonde needs to roll with Cossa on Thursday if Talbot isn't ready to return in hopes of sparking this team. Finally, in Buffalo, the Red Wings played with some urgency and, for the first time, decided to play angrily. Moritz Seider was leveling Sabres, plus Jeff Petry and even Ben Chiarot, who has looked stoic for much of the season, was throwing his weight around. The Red Wings drafted Cossa 15th overall in 2021 for a reason; while he's called up, let's see where he's at development-wise. Time is running out; expect Cossa to return to Grand Rapids as soon as Talbot is ready to start.

Detroit's top goaltending prospect has been enjoying an excellent season with the Griffins, backed by a 9-4-1 record, a 0.925% save percentage, and a 2.21 goals-against average.