Husso: "It's Been a Long Road, but I Feel Good Now"

Ville Husso believes he's close to returning from injuries that have limited him to just one appearance since mid-December

It hasn't been an easy second half of the season for Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso.

Husso picked up a lower body injury in the first period of a home start against the Flyers on December 18th, which held him out of action until February 13th in Edmonton. That night against the Oilers, Husso made his return and proceeded to pick up another lower-body injury, once again unable to complete a full period before being forced out of the game.

"It's never nice to get hurt, especially back-to-back when you first came back, so it's been a long road, but I feel good now," Husso said Saturday, after practice. "And hopefully get a couple games in GR soon. The last couple weeks it's been better, and I feel good now." He added that the "biggest thing the last couple weeks" has been getting to a place where he can be an "option" if Detroit makes playoffs.

Husso stressed that the two injuries are "different stuff" rather than the recurrence of the same ailment, before saying, "I guess it's part of it. It's one of those years that everything goes not your way. It's been tough, but it's hockey. It's just hockey, and I'll be stronger when I come back."

He's been at least a partial participant in practice for some time, but he's just received clearance for a conditioning start or two in Grand Rapids, which should represent his final hurdle to clear before he's ready to play for the Red Wings again.

"I think now I'm clear," Husso said. "Back-to-back injuries, and you don't want to rush it. We've done a good job here, our training staff, and I feel pretty comfortable. Get a couple of games in GR pretty soon."

"It'll be a post-practice type thing," said coach Derek Lalonde yesterday of sending Husso to Grand Rapids for a conditioning start. "It's been the plan all along. He felt he was ready to get some practice time and to get a conditioning stint down there, and we're getting to close to that."

"Our staff wanted to make sure that it won't happen [for the] third time," Husso said of the deliberate recovery process. "At that point, training hard and been skating for a bit now. That's a good sign, and like I said, I feel good now."

Detroit has just six games remaining in its season, so the runway for a return has never been shorter, but, when asked whether he ever considering simply shutting it down for the season, Husso replied,"At least in my head, never."

"I wish I would've recovered a little faster, almost eight weeks now since I played the last game, but no I never even really thought about that. I wish we make the playoffs, and you never know what's gonna happen. In my head the last couple weeks, I was like make sure I'm ready if I get a call to play here or wherever. There's no thoughts that I would not play this year."