Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson has accomplished a feat that no Red Wings goalie has managed since their most recent Stanley Cup-winning season.
This is the kind of goaltending that the Detroit Red Wings envisioned when John Gibson was acquired during the offseason from the Anaheim Ducks.
While Gibson didn't get off to the kind of start that either he or the club was hoping for, he's been making up for it in recent weeks.
With Tuesday evening's victory over the Dallas Stars at Little Caesars Arena, Gibson not only established a new career-high in consecutive wins with eight, but he also hit a goaltending milestone for a Red Wings goaltender not accomplished since their most recent Stanley Cup-winning season.
No Red Wings goaltender since Chris Osgood from Oct. 10, 2007, through Nov. 7, 2007, has won eight consecutive games.
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Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan has noticed the difference between Gibson's play early on in the season as opposed to his recent successful stretch, calling it less unsettled.
“Less erratic, not John as a whole, but the group in front of him in that 25, 50 square foot area around the net," McLellan said of Gibson's recent performances. "Less erratic with (the) goaltender, less erratic with D-men, one save and done instead of two, three, four. I think that’s helped him."
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"He’s just more confident, and sometimes it takes a little while to settle in.”
A confident Gibson between the pipes can only bode well for the Red Wings, who entered the Christmas holiday break leading the Atlantic Division while also tied for first place overall in the Eastern Conference.
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