Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso picks up his first win in over a calendar year, making 24 stops en route to a 4-2 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs

DETROIT—For Ville Husso, Saturday night's 4–2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs was a long time coming.  367 days to be exact, winless since a Dec. 12, 2023 victory over the St. Louis Blues at the barn he once called home.  In between, he made only eight NHL appearances, whether because injuries kept him out of action or questionable form relegated him to the American Hockey League.  The plan wasn't for Husso to start against the Maple Leafs until injuries necessitated it, but, after 24 saves on 26 shots to beat the Maple Leafs, Husso found himself exactly where his team needed him: in the crease, busy, battling, and effective.

At his post-game press conference, wearing a white and red Red Wings beanie that could easily double as a Santa hat in a pinch, Husso invoked the Finnish term sisu to describe his year-plus wait between wins.  "They teach us that at a young age in Finland," the newly triumphant goaltender said of sisu.  "Just trust yourself and do your job. It's not always easy, but it was nice to get the win."  A 1940 Time Magazine article, describing Finnish resilience to Soviet invasion during the Winter War, defined sisu as "a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity, of the ability to keep fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with the will to win."  

Husso didn't have to stare down the Soviet Army Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena, but he did have to resist Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and a hungry Maple Leaf team.  As coach Derek Lalonde put it, "It's a win against a good team, but it's a good team that had their A game today. Toronto and their elite players were on, so I give our guys a lot of credit."

Not unlike Husso's road from one victory to the next, the Red Wings' path to success Saturday night was far from certain.  Detroit nabbed a 2-1 lead with just 18 seconds left in the second period, defenseman Moritz Seider finishing off a glorious passing sequence from Patrick Kane to Andrew Copp and on for Seider.  The goal came against the run of play, with Toronto's big gunners tilting the ice toward Husso (who had 14 stops to make) for most of the period's back half, only for the Red Wings to steal a jolt of optimism heading into the third.

For a Detroit team that has struggle to sustain any momentum throughout the season, it was fair to wonder how they would manage to protect that lead against the charging Leafs.  The initial answer was not for long, with Matthew Knies beating Husso with a deflection just 1:07 into the third.  However, Jeff Petry (who began the night with zero goals for the season and ended it with a pair) scored only 44 seconds later to restore the Red Wings' lead.

If Husso was at his busiest during the second, he was at his best to close out the game in the third, never bigger than denying Marner (who had beat him in the first) on a third period breakaway.  The Ontarian winger—who had also already shown his skill with a spectacular second period assist for Matthews—attempted to goad Husso into opening up his five hole before slipping the puck through, but Husso issued a firm denial with his pads.

When asked about the stop, Husso articulated that his success Saturday stemmed from freedom of thought.  "It's just not even think[ing] about anything," he explained. "Just play hockey. And I feel like I had a good mindset tonight. Whatever comes comes, and try to stop it."  The puck would keep coming his way for the game's remaining 12 minutes, and Husso stopped every last Maple Leaf volley.

When Lucas Raymond struck the empty net with the clock showing under two seconds remaining, Husso's battle—12 long months chasing a single victory—finally ended, his sisu having paid off at last. It was a fight no Red Wing—Husso surely included—would have wanted, but one that earned earned admiration from all.  Lalonde said he was "really happy and proud of Ville." 

With the win, Detroit pulled itself to a 12-14-4 record, with five teams still separating the team from the wild card cut line.  Though just mid-December, the Red Wings' fight for the postseason is an unenviable one, but as their goaltender showed Saturday, with a bit of sisu, that battle is worth fighting, there to be won.

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