DETROIT- Villie Husso won the Detroit Red Wings "blank slate" open goalie competition and yet the team's hierarchy in net is far from settled.
The Finnish netminder lasted less than 26 minutes in Detroit's season opener. He gave up four goals in a 14 shots in a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh. Now, coach Derek Lalonde plans to start Cam Talbot against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
"Obviously (Husso) didn't look as sharp as he did in the preseason," Lalonde said. "You could just tell some of the rebound control, some things that were sticking to him or he was controlling in the preseason, he didn't tonight. So again, he hasn't played hockey. He had a lot of looks in the exhibition, but it's still probably a little rust there, too."
It's been more than nine months since Husso played a 60-minute NHL game
Husso played a full game in a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on December 14. Two days later, he provided a 30-minute relief effort against Philadelphia. He was then injured against the Anaheim Ducks of Dec. 18, playing only 17 minutes and 23 seconds. He returned to the lineup in February against Edmonton and lasted less than nine minutes before he was reinjured.
Husso looked sharp in the preseason to win Derek Lalonde's open goalie competition to be Detroit's starter.
He had just recently beat the Penguins with a 43-save preseason performance. He looked like he was ready to reclaim the No. 1 job.
"I mean, you don't want to see that at all," captain Dylan Larkin said about Husso's early departure. "And just a bad second period for all of us, and he's the one that gets pulled. It's not fair to him. When a goalie gets pulled, it's not usually just him. It's a full lineup that needs to be accountable as well. But you don't want to see that. And hopefully Huss has bounced back from everything he's gone through and we know what kind of player he can be for us, and I know he'll bounce back from tonight."
Lalonde has said he wants to play all three of his goalies early in the season. Alex Lyon, who was No. 1 for a good chunk of last season, is the other goalie
"Obviously Ville did not look overly comfortable tonight, which again, understandable with the lack of hockey's played," Lalonde said. "But it really hasn't changed from the exhibition preseason of three guys we have some confidence with, and we'll obviously see a different starter on Saturday."