Ville Husso’s conditioning stint isn’t exactly going as planned. The Red Wings sent the netminder down to AHL Grand Rapids earlier this week to get him some game action. However, as MLive’s Tyler Kuehl details, Husso left during the pregame warm-up on Friday night and ultimately didn’t dress for the contest which suggests he either re-aggravated his lower-body injury or sustained some other injury. There was no update on Husso’s status following the game but at the moment, it’s fair to say that Detroit can’t be counting on the 29-year-old to return down the stretch. Husso has struggled when he has played with the Red Wings this season, posting a 3.55 GAA with a save percentage of just .892 in 19 appearances.
Red Wings Rumors
Red Wings Recall Zach Aston-Reese
The Red Wings announced that forward Zach Aston-Reese has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency loan. He could replace Andrew Copp, who left yesterday’s loss to the Capitals with a suspected broken cheekbone, in the lineup tomorrow in a must-win game against the Penguins.
Copp sustained the injury on a high-sticking infraction from Capitals winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel that referees missed with less than six minutes remaining in the contest. He didn’t return to the game and could be out for Detroit’s four remaining regular season games if imaging confirms the break. The Red Wings are also without winger Michael Rasmussen (upper body, day-to-day), which would leave them with only 11 healthy forwards against Pittsburgh if neither he nor Copp can play, necessitating a forward recall from Grand Rapids today.
The Wings signed Copp to a five-year, $28.1MM deal in 2022, expecting him to slot in as their second-line center behind Dylan Larkin. He was coming off a career year and an electric finish, recording 18 points in 16 games with the Rangers after they picked him up from the Jets at the 2022 trade deadline. He’s been underwhelming offensively, though, scoring only nine goals in 82 games last season after four straight seasons of double-digit totals. While he’s put the puck in the net more this season with 13 markers, his overall production is down, limited to 33 points in 77 games. His 0.43 points per game are his lowest in five years, and he’s been a negative relative possession player in both of his campaigns in Detroit.
Aston-Reese will now play spot duty as the Red Wings fight to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Their chances of doing so tumbled nearly 25% after yesterday’s loss and now sit at 27.9%, per MoneyPuck. Detroit signed Aston-Reese for experienced organizational depth in early October after he was released from a PTO with the Hurricanes, but the 29-year-old has only played one NHL game this season. He’s spent most of the season in the minors for the first time since 2017-18, his first professional season. In 59 games with Grand Rapids, the versatile checking forward has 14 goals, 15 assists, 29 points, a +4 rating, and 51 PIMs.
Red Wings Assign Ville Husso On Conditioning Loan
The Red Wings have assigned goaltender Ville Husso to AHL Grand Rapids on a conditioning loan, the team announced Monday. He’s been out for most of the second half of the season and hasn’t played since Feb. 13 with a lower-body injury. He logged under nine minutes of ice time in that game, exiting with a re-aggravation of the lower-body ailment that had previously kept him out since mid-December.
Even before the injury, it was a season to forget for Husso. The 29-year-old has been underwhelming for the Wings in two campaigns since they acquired him from the Blues and promptly extended him in the summer of 2022.
Across those two seasons, he has a respectable 35-27-9 record in 74 starts and one relief appearance but has done so on the back of a lot of goal support, posting a .895 SV% and 3.22 GAA. That works out to -19.6 goals saved above average since inking the three-year, $14.25MM extension.
Detroit has given the starter’s net to journeyman Alex Lyon since Husso’s injury, and he’ll undoubtedly be their Game 1 starter should they crack the playoff picture for the first time in eight years. The 31-year-old Lyon has smashed his previous career-high of 15 appearances, set last year with the Panthers, making 40 starts for the Wings while compiling a 20-17-4 record and .908 SV%.
Husso can spend up to 14 days in Grand Rapids on a conditioning loan, which would keep him there through the end of the regular season. His $4.75MM cap hit continues to count against Detroit’s books in full. If the Red Wings make the playoffs, he can be recalled and would likely sit in the press box while veteran James Reimer, who’s been better and is fresher than Husso, serves as Lyon’s backup.
Michael Rasmussen Remains Out Tuesday With Upper-Body Injury
- Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen won’t be in the lineup tomorrow for a crucial game against the Capitals in a crucial game in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, head coach Derek Lalonde confirmed. The two-way winger will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old has done well before his four-year, $12.8MM extension kicks in next season, posting a career-high 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 75 games. He’s logging over 15 minutes per game for the second consecutive campaign, and while his possession numbers have dipped from last season, he’s receiving much more frequent deployment in the defensive zone.
Detroit Red Wings Injury Updates
Earlier, Ansar Khan of MLive issued several injury updates to several players on the Detroit Red Wings. Still having six games remaining in the regular season, the Red Wings control their destiny for the playoffs and will have to do so without a good portion of their depth.
Specifically, Khan notes that forward Michael Rasmussen will not be in the lineup for the team’s game tomorrow night against the Buffalo Sabres, and will also not be present for the team’s following game against the Washington Capitals. Rasmussen originally went down with an upper-body injury on April 1st and did not play for the team on Friday in a loss to the New York Rangers.
It will be a big subtraction for several reasons, as Rasmussen’s size and athletic ability have allowed Detroit to move him up and down the lineup for much of the year. With this being his most successful season, Rasmussen has scored 13 goals and 33 points over 75 games this year, leading to a four-year, $12.8MM extension with the Red Wings back in February.
On the defensive side of the lineup, Khan also mentioned that defenseman Olli Maatta is questionable for tomorrow’s contest as he is also dealing with an upper-body injury. Playing primarily with offensive defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere for much of the year, Maatta’s presence on the back end has been able to hide much of Gostisbehere’s defensive shortcomings.
In his second season in the Winged Wheel, Maatta has scored three goals and 17 points over 66 games, which is right on par with his production from last year. On the puck’s defensive side, Maatta has managed a 93.6 On-Ice Save Percentage in All Situations, a massive testament to his game, given that Detroit is 24th overall in goals against per game.
Lastly, in an update between the pipes, Khan reports that goaltender Ville Husso is close to beginning a rehab assignment with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Husso has been out for nearly two months for Detroit as he works his way back from a lower-body injury.
Before the emergence of Alex Lyon in the crease, Husso started the year as the Red Wings starting option in the net. Although he was a bit streaky to start the year, Husso has put together a 9-5-2 record over 18 starts, carrying a .892 save percentage and a 3.55 goals-against average.
Chase Bradley Looking To Test Free Agency
- Red Wings prospect Chase Bradley is looking to test free agency this summer, Divver reports in a separate tweet. The 22-year-old was a seventh-rounder back in 2020 and while he has only played three years of college, he’s four years removed from being drafted and thus can leave school to test the open market. Bradley had 11 goals and 11 assists with the University of Connecticut this season in his junior year.
Michael Rasmussen Out Friday With Undisclosed Injury
A difficult season for Flyers captain Sean Couturier continues. The 31-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury in Monday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders, and head coach John Tortorella is “not sure when he’ll be back,” he told reporters today (via Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia). He carries a day-to-day designation, though, and hasn’t specifically been ruled out of Friday’s contest against the Sabres. He’s without a point and has a -4 rating in six games since returning from back-to-back healthy scratches in mid-March, not the response he or Tortorella was looking for. Couturier’s recent struggles have been a significant reason why the Flyers’ playoff chances have dropped by about 25% in the past few weeks, as they now find themselves in a nearly neck-and-neck race with the Capitals and Red Wings for two playoff spots. He’s logged over 15 minutes in a game just twice since the beginning of March and has played mostly fourth-line minutes since his healthy scratches. The 2011 eighth-overall pick has at least managed to remain mostly healthy after missing most of the last two seasons due to back injuries, but his offensive impact has been greatly diminished with 11 goals and 36 points in 70 games, his worst point-per-game pace in nine years.
- Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen won’t play against the Rangers on Friday due to an undisclosed injury and has been awarded a day-to-day designation, head coach Derek Lalonde said today. The 2017 ninth-overall pick has a career-high 33 points and was one of four Red Wings to play all 75 games this season. He’s unlikely to reach the offensive ceiling expected of a top-10 pick, but the 24-year-old sits among one of Lalonde’s most trusted shutdown forwards and has averaged 15:11 per game, also a career-high, while shifting from center to wing for most of the campaign. 60.3% of his even-strength zone starts have come in the defensive end, leading all qualified Red Wings forwards and trailing only Moritz Seider among skaters. Robby Fabbri is expected to slide into a top-nine role with Rasmussen out, while Daniel Sprong returns to the lineup as the fourth-line right wing.
Jake Walman Returns To The Lineup
TSN is reporting that the Montreal Canadiens have upgraded the status of center Christian Dvorak to day-to-day, meaning that the 28-year-old could play before the end of the season. The Canadiens announced on January 4th that the Palos, Illinois native would miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle, but he was a full participant in the Canadiens’ practice today and wore a regular jersey.
Dvorak was originally acquired by Montreal back in September of 2021 from the Arizona Coyotes. The trade hasn’t worked out as the Canadiens had hoped after sending a 2022 first-round draft pick and a 2024 2nd round draft pick to Arizona in the exchange. Dvorak has battled inconsistency and injury during his tenure in Montreal, particularly this season where he has missed nearly four months of action and has just three goals and four assists in 25 games.
In other Atlantic Division notes:
- Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman will draw back into the lineup after being sidelined with a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old missed the last six games with the ailment and will draw in against the Tampa Bay Lightning in place of veteran Olli Maatta. Walman has dressed in 61 games this season and has averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game, registering 12 goals and nine assists to go along with 150 blocked shots and 106 shots on goal.
- Buffalo Sabres forward Jordan Greenway is reportedly being evaluated for an upper-body injury according to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Lysowski adds that the Sabres are hopeful that Greenway will be day-to-day with the ailment and can get back into game action soon. The Sabres sit seven points back of the Philadelphia Flyers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining and are all but mathematically eliminated at this point in the season. In his first full season with the Sabres Greenway has contributed nine goals and 15 assists in 62 games to go along with 131 hits.
Snapshots: Tanev, Bunting, Butler, Aston-Reese
The Dallas Stars could be without their newest defenseman for an extended time, with Trade Deadline acquisition Chris Tanev leaving the team’s Saturday night game early after taking an elbow to the head from Seattle Kraken Adam Larsson. Larsson received a five-minute major and game misconduct for the hit, while Tanev exited after 17 minutes of ice time. Tanev will be re-evaluated on Sunday, with the Stars hoping for an update early this week, per Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning Star (Web link).
Tanev is 12 games into his time with the Stars, recording one goal, two points, and 10 penalty minutes. The Stars sent away prospect Artem Grushnikov, a conditional second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick to land Tanev – and they’re getting their money’s worth, with Tanev stepping into an immediate impact role and averaging over 18 minutes of ice time each game. He’s served as much-needed depth behind star Miro Heiskanen, elevating the impact of depth defenseman Esa Lindell. Dallas would normally turn towards Jani Hakanpaa in the event of Tanev’s absence, though he’s also bearing through a day-to-day injury. The Stars aren’t carrying any other defenders, meaning they’ll need to make a call-up if neither Tanev nor Hakanpaa can go.
Other notes from around the league:
- Michael Bunting left the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Saturday night game due to illness, head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed after the game (Twitter link). Bunting played in nearly 10 minutes of ice time before exiting, with a -1 representing his only stat change. He’s found a strong scoring groove through his first 12 games in Pittsburgh, with three goals and seven points – though he’s still finding where he fits best in the lineup. There’s been no update on Bunting’s availability moving forward, though healthy scratch Emil Bemstrom is available to slot in if needed.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent right-winger Cameron Butler back to the minor leagues, after awarding him with his NHL debut on Saturday (Twitter link). He played in just one shift – staying on the ice for 54 seconds – during the eventual shootout-win. Butler, who is in his first year of pro hockey, will now return to the AHL, where he’s already managed two goals, eight points, and 63 penalty minutes in 46 games. He signed with the Blue Jackets as an undrafted free-agent in March of 2023.
- Zach Aston-Reese has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Detroit Red Wings after being recalled on Friday (Twitter link). Aston-Reese didn’t appear in any NHL action during the call-up, making his sole game in December his only NHL game of the season. He’s managed 13 goals, 28 points, and 47 penalty minutes in 56 AHL games this season – his first year in the league since 2018-19.
Kane (Illness) Expected To Return Today
- The Red Wings are expected to get winger Patrick Kane back in the lineup today against Florida, relays MLive’s Ansar Khan. The veteran missed Thursday’s game with the flu. Kane has done quite well since signing with Detroit in late November after recovering from hip surgery, collecting 17 goals and 23 assists in 41 games while averaging over 18 minutes a night. Detroit enters play today sitting two points behind Washington for the final Wild Card spot in the East.