RECAP: Husso’s ‘really, really promising’ preseason performance helps Red Wings beat Penguins, 2-1

PITTSBURGH -- Goalie Ville Husso shined against the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing all three periods and making 43 saves to help the Detroit Red Wings leave PPG Paints Arena with a 2-1 preseason victory on Tuesday night.

“I felt good,” Husso said. “After that first game I played in Chicago, I hadn’t played for a long time before that, so it was easy to come in today. We’ve had a good Training Camp so far. [The Penguins] pretty much had a full NHL roster, but we did a good job all night.”

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said postgame it was always the plan for Husso to play all of Tuesday's contest.

“Really, really promising,” Lalonde said about Husso’s night in the crease. “Good sign for him to be that sharp throughout the entire 60 minutes, and it was good volume. A good battle for him, a good test, and he certainly passed it tonight.”

The Penguins applied most of the pressure in the first period, leading 14-4 in shots, but Husso stood tall and turned aside every shot he faced, including an impressive save on a Sidney Crosby breakaway chance, to keep things scoreless after 20 minutes.

Rickard Rakell gave Pittsburgh the night’s first lead early in the second period, tapping in a rebound to make it 1-0 at 1:34.

Quickly responding for Detroit just 1:14 later, Amadeus Lombardi made a great move into the slot and roofed a quick wrister past Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry to tie it 1-1. The lone assist went to Hunter Johannes.

“I loved the play,” Lalonde said about Lombardi’s goal. “He had some poise, held onto it, took some time with it and finished. He’s had a good camp. He’s progressing extremely well over the last two years, which is exciting to see. A huge credit to the GR staff. He doesn’t look like the same player we had in camp last year. It’s a good sign for him going forward.”

Nate Danielson scored at 17:11 of the third period, taking a lead pass from Michael Brandsegg-Nygard before surging up the ice and sliding the puck five-hole for a breakaway goal to make it 2-1.

“I feel pretty confident,” Danielson said. “I’m just a confident person. I think I can still get better, be a little more offensive and create a little bit more, but I think I’m getting better every game.”

Lalonde said the Red Wings got what they deserved on Tuesday.

“I loved our compete,” Lalonde said. “Obviously Ville was a big difference in the game tonight. I get the exhibition season can be tough to judge and very frustrating at times. A lot of times, you’ll get veterans who get what they need out of the game. You saw a little bit of that last night, probably a little bit tonight. But moving camp forward, we’d like a little more compete. I thought we had that from the group tonight, and they got rewarded in the end with a win.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will conclude their exhibition slate with three games in three days, first facing the Toronto Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

Lalonde on keeping players fresh amidst a busy exhibition slate

“It actually plays out a bit better than you think. We have the bodies and the two teams going, so it actually played out fine. We’ll get in some back-to-backs but in reality, in Training Camp, sometimes the back-to-back is not as taxing, especially with the intensity of practice during camp. It’s very doable.”

Husso on the importance of preseason reps

“A game is a game. Especially a team like that, it’s fun to play against. I feel like all of us today did a really good job and enjoyed the test tonight.”

Danielson on the challenge of facing Pittsburgh’s NHL-heavy lineup

“You want to play against the best players, and I think getting to play against some of those guys is pretty special. It was a good game. I’m getting more comfortable playing against NHL lineups.”

Husso on what he’s focusing on throughout Training Camp

“Everything. Just getting the timing down, things like that. Not just one specific thing, but I’m so happy to be out there and playing games. I feel good.”