Why Detroit Red Wings’ Alex Lyon is feeling in mood for holiday re-gifting

Alex Lyon had a busy day: Practice, prepare to return to the Detroit Red Wings’ lineup – and a bit of holiday re-gifting.

The affable goaltender has been cleared from the lower-body injury that has sidelined him for three weeks. He and Ville Husso are both available for Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m., TNT), while Cam Talbot is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

“Feeling good,” he said Tuesday. “Feeling happy, healthy and just excited to get back in and contribute. It’s always a good feeling.”

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The Wings (12-14-4) are looking to win consecutive games for the first time since Thanksgiving. They spent quite a bit of time in practice working on special teams, as the power play – still a respectable 24.4%, in the top 10 in the NHL – has gone quiet the last four games. Marco Kasper, back in good health after missing the last game because of illness, was on Dylan Larkin’s unit.

To keep or not to keep

Throughout their struggles this season, goaltending has been the Wings’ most dependable asset. When Lyon, who hasn’t played since Nov. 25, and Talbot both were sidelined earlier this month, Husso handled the majority of the workload. Carrying three goaltenders can have its challenges – making sure all get enough reps in practice; fitting them under the 23-man limit – but it’s been very useful.

“We’ve been able to turn to an experienced goalie that we believe in all year,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “Over two years, good on our management team, thinking outside the box with roster management and being able to carry three goalies.

“It salvaged our season and got us on the brink of the playoffs last year, and it’s kept us in the battle this year. We’ve had four goalies win games for us this year and we’re not even at Christmas.”

Husso is coming off his first NHL win in more than a year, helping the Wings defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs Dec. 14. The Wings called him up Nov. 27 on an emergency basis, so when Talbot is also healthy, they will have to decide whether to carry three or send Husso back to Grand Rapids Griffins.

He knows that can happen, but “I just go day by day,” Husso said. “I don’t think there is any other way. Do my job and I don’t think about that other stuff. 

“It’s been nice to be home and hopefully I’ll get to spend Christmas with the family. That will be good.”

Lalonde: Not yet

Lalonde deferred speculation, saying, “let’s get to three healthy goalies first,” and complemented Husso on his professionalism.

“Ville is just a genuinely really good person, very well liked in the room,” Lalonde said. “He’s a guy you root for. He’s worked hard. A lot of the adversity has come through injury, he’s had some lower body injuries he’s dealt with. He keeps working at it.”

Lyon is ready to get back to work.

“Being healthy is directly tied to your livelihood,” he said. “It’s an important factor and important to stay healthy, but at the same time, things happen.”

Things happen, and holidays happen, and it’s good to have gifts on hand. Lyon had some trinkets in his locker that were from past giveaways at games: A Mike Vernon mini goalie mask replica and a mini replica of Dominik Hasek’s stick.

“The Red Wings gave to me in the form of these  presents and I just thought I’d give them right back,” Lyon said, smiling. “It’s the holiday spirit giving.”

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.