Jeremy Laura: Detroit hands Boston first regulation loss, 5-4 final

good for da Wings, and bad for the little bad booins!
What crybabies!

All that negative emotional energy displayed by the B's in the last of the 3rd period was totally unnecessary. I guess they are reflecting their captain's personality!

There are flashes of brilliance with this team. It's been said many times that this team could contend for a WC spot, games like last night show it's truly possible.

Walman is a beast. Booming shot, great situational awareness, sublime skating...would say he's been the best acquisition of the Yzerplan era. Compher' a very good get as well, a player's player, he does all of the things the right way and maintains a level head. His ability to change the slope of the ice is impressive. Mo started showing up like he was the past 2 years....amazing he's been with us that long!! His skating the past 2 games seems to have improved so whatever may have been off to startthe season looks to be gone, which is GREAT for us. He & Walman are an excellent 1D.....

Larkin's not a superstar, say some. I don't know what qualifies one as a superstar, but that guy is truly the heart & soul of this team plain & simple. His back-checking and defensive play is so under-rated. I do have some concern about the anger with which he plays; any time I see him engage is extra-curriculars, I worry about him being injured and the impact on the team. He's such a good player...not generational for sure, but the dude's got his game straight. The end of the game was quickly getting out of hand....the rough stuff was pretty rough. But the guys rose to the call and mixed it up well....but it was Mo, Larkin, Raymond. Would've preferred Holl or Chiarot get after it, but the 1st line looked to be targeted, so ya gotta fight that fight. The issue is that the 1st line is veing targeted, so the 2-4 line guys need to step up against the opponent's 1st liners.....I like the physicality for sure, just don't want to see anyone targeted.....something to watch, I guess.

Well played game, good effort, some issues with passes in the O-zone; they're just not crisp. I also noticed the guys are holding their shots. At the beginning of the year, it was a shooting gallery, now it seems like guys are awaiting the parting of the Red Sea to shoot....I'd say they need to rain shots as much as they can, and quickly because shooting lanes are closing down faster than we can shoot....

Anyway, good game. Like what I see. Marchand's a punk....

There are flashes of brilliance with this team. It's been said many times that this team could contend for a WC spot, games like last night show it's truly possible.

Walman is a beast. Booming shot, great situational awareness, sublime skating...would say he's been the best acquisition of the Yzerplan era. Compher' a very good get as well, a player's player, he does all of the things the right way and maintains a level head. His ability to change the slope of the ice is impressive. Mo started showing up like he was the past 2 years....amazing he's been with us that long!! His skating the past 2 games seems to have improved so whatever may have been off to startthe season looks to be gone, which is GREAT for us. He & Walman are an excellent 1D.....

Larkin's not a superstar, say some. I don't know what qualifies one as a superstar, but that guy is truly the heart & soul of this team plain & simple. His back-checking and defensive play is so under-rated. I do have some concern about the anger with which he plays; any time I see him engage is extra-curriculars, I worry about him being injured and the impact on the team. He's such a good player...not generational for sure, but the dude's got his game straight. The end of the game was quickly getting out of hand....the rough stuff was pretty rough. But the guys rose to the call and mixed it up well....but it was Mo, Larkin, Raymond. Would've preferred Holl or Chiarot get after it, but the 1st line looked to be targeted, so ya gotta fight that fight. The issue is that the 1st line is veing targeted, so the 2-4 line guys need to step up against the opponent's 1st liners.....I like the physicality for sure, just don't want to see anyone targeted.....something to watch, I guess.

Well played game, good effort, some issues with passes in the O-zone; they're just not crisp. I also noticed the guys are holding their shots. At the beginning of the year, it was a shooting gallery, now it seems like guys are awaiting the parting of the Red Sea to shoot....I'd say they need to rain shots as much as they can, and quickly because shooting lanes are closing down faster than we can shoot....

Anyway, good game. Like what I see. Marchand's a punk....
- mcmastermike1968

Yeah, maybe it was time to put the bigger bodies out there on the last PP and let them just glare at them.

Yeah, maybe it was time to put the bigger bodies out there on the last PP and let them just glare at them.
- HenryHockey

Staring contest for the extra point vs a shoot-out?!?! I'd dress up like one of the Hanson brothers!!!

I'd like to see Lyon get some starts....... Husso gives up some bad goals.... I realize the d isn't the greatest, but it has made some improvements this season to this point..... even coach has spoken of the freebies..... give Lyon a go....

I'd like to see Lyon get some starts....... Husso gives up some bad goals.... I realize the d isn't the greatest, but it has made some improvements this season to this point..... even coach has spoken of the freebies..... give Lyon a go....
- angryagain

Reimer >>>>>>>>> Lyon

Reimer >>>>>>>>> Lyon
- Feds91Stammer

Exactly! Lyon should get his reps in GR with a conditioning stint. He should be eligible now. Maybe the Wings held off as to not ruffle Cossa's feathers.

Reimer has played well... there's no denying that. Better than what I'd expected. I'd still like to see what Lyon can do after a conditioning stint in GR.

Reimer has played well... there's no denying that. Better than what I'd expected. I'd still like to see what Lyon can do after a conditioning stint in GR.
- Vladdie_Kon1

What makes you think he can suddenly be a competent NHL goalie in any capacity? Haven’t we seen this team lose enough games the last few seasons because they’ve had to play AHL caliber goalies?

What makes you think he can suddenly be a competent NHL goalie in any capacity? Haven’t we seen this team lose enough games the last few seasons because they’ve had to play AHL caliber goalies?
- Feds91Stammer

I want to see what he can do... if he plays well at a minimum he could be used for trade bait. He helped out Florida going into the playoffs last year and into the first round when Bobrovsky went down with injury. You can't say for certain he sucks until you actually see him play. Why protect him from waivers if you never give him a sniff of playing time ? It's a pretty low risk gamble if you're talking one or two games.

I want to see what he can do... if he plays well at a minimum he could be used for trade bait. He helped out Florida going into the playoffs last year and into the first round when Bobrovsky went down with injury. You can't say for certain he sucks until you actually see him play. Why protect him from waivers if you never give him a sniff of playing time ? It's a pretty low risk gamble if you're talking one or two games.
- Vladdie_Kon1

One or two games could cost them a playoff spot.

He had an unsustainable run for Florida last season. His career otherwise is not good.

I think carrying him on the roster is a waste.

Ville Husso:
28 years old
121 games played
2.96 GAA
.904 save percentage

Alex Lyon
30 years old
39 games played
3.02 GAA
.904 save percentage

Here are all 32 teams ranked by the number of games started by an "insurance goalie" (i.e., anybody other than a team's top 2 most-used goaltenders) last season:

CBJ 29
BUF 26
OTT 25
CAR 23
VAN 23
VGK 21
CHI 20
LAK 20
TOR 16
FLA 14
NJD 14
ANA 13
DET 13
PHI 10
ARI 7
STL 6
COL 4
SJS 4
SEA 4
DAL 3
MTL 2
PIT 2
BOS 1
CGY 1
NSH 1
EDM 0
MIN 0
NYI 0
NYR 0
TBL 0
WSH 0
WPG 0


The average team started an insurance goalie about 9.5 times. The median was 5.

I think the first lesson here is that teams (at least those with legitimate playoff hopes) should make sure they have at least three goalies in their system who can step in and provide "solid AHL starter/fringe NHL backup" quality play. You're probably going to have to use that guy at least a couple of times. There's a realistic chance you might end up using him a lot.

The second lesson is that you do not need a three-goalie rotation if your 1 and 2 are healthy. Two goalies is more than enough to ensure rest and workload management while keeping both goalies sharp. Playing a No. 3 when two better goalies are healthy and available (and at least one is well rested) offers no clear benefit while reducing your chances to win.

I'll reiterate my previous suspicion that Lyon was signed mainly because Detroit wasn't prepared to roll with Cossa as the No. 3 in the system. The risk that Cossa would be pressed into significant NHL duty, and fail miserably, was unacceptably high for a team looking to compete for a wild card spot.

Lyon provides insurance against that possibility. But that doesn't mean they have to use him, or even should use him, if they don't need to.

If Detroit becomes dissatisfied with the performance from Husso or Reimer and Lyon draws in, fine. Maybe that will happen. But I disagree with the argument that just because a guy is on your NHL roster you gotta play him, or you should "give him a shot" if your expensive starter is playing kinda meh (not even badly).

IMO, whether you choose to keep your No. 3 on the NHL roster or the AHL roster really comes down to whether or not you care if he gets regular starts. It's pretty apparent Detroit doesn't care if Lyon gets any starts. I think they'd rather not use him in Detroit if they don't have to, and they'd rather not have him competing with Cossa for AHL starts either (or risk losing him on waivers). He's a guy who is there just in case you need him. Y'know. Insurance.

Ville Husso:
28 years old
121 games played
2.96 GAA
.904 save percentage

Alex Lyon
30 years old
39 games played
3.02 GAA
.904 save percentage
- Diller

I think in this case it's not enough to make the argument that "Husso might not be much better than Lyon," which is plausible. You really need to make the case that Lyon would actually be a meaningful improvement.

Like it or not Husso is on the books this year and next at almost $5 million against the cap. It'd be one thing if Husso was playing absolutely terrible or Lyon had a stellar NHL/AHL resume and there was a clear reason to think he'd be an upgrade. But neither are true.

Tie goes to the guy making the big bucks. I know that feels gross but honestly what do you gain by benching Husso in favor of someone who is not actually any better? Would it get you better on-ice results? No. Would it create pointless drama and possibly make it more difficult to move a contract? Maybe.

TL/DR, I think the argument "Husso ain't it" has a lot of merit but, guys, Lyon ain't it either.

Thank you Sven for putting all that so eloquently and factually. But Feds answers are brutally frank, brief and more entertaining!

Thank you Sven for putting all that so eloquently and factually. But Feds answers are brutally frank, brief and more entertaining!
- HenryHockey

It takes all kinds, as they say