Red Wings Hopeful to Start Talbot in Philadelphia

As of this afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings have yet to lock in a starting goaltender for tomorrow night's game against the Flyers in Philadelphia. Coach Derek Lalonde knows who he's like to start, but as Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon work their way back from injuries, that can't yet be a certainty.

When asked for an update on their status after this afternoon's practice, Lalonde replied, "We're hoping to have Talbot for tomorrow. We're gonna see how he respond[s] to practice today, haven't got that report yet. And Alex Lyon'll still be a couple days away." He added that the team would wait until they had a clearer sense of Talbot's status to settle on tomorrow night's starter, saying, "We're gonna wait for Cam. We'd love to be able to play Cam tomorrow."

Per Lalonde, Talbot's return to health will correspond to Sebastian Cossa returning to Grand Rapids, having picked up his first NHL win in relief of Ville Husso Monday night in Buffalo. "You can't much more of a pinnacle or high than his game," Lalonde said of Cossa's performance. "Watching his game back, he did look a little rattled in there, he had trouble finding pucks, but got the job done...The game looked a little overwhelming for him...but he looked most comfortable when he got in the shootout. He was calmed down. There's no traffic. It's mano versus mano." He added that he expects Cossa to rejoin the Griffins brimming with confidence after his NHL cameo. Not long after practice, Detroit made Cossa's return to GR official:

Lyon, meanwhile, chatted with reporters after practice about his journey back to full health, saying that he had "been skating the last few days while the guys were on the road and been feeling pretty good and probably be ready to go any day here." Lyon characterized himself as "itching really bad" to get back in net, saying, "Obviously, when you're out it's a mental strain probably more than physical. You feel bad. You kinda leave the boys hanging, but [Husso] played great and [Cossa] played as well against Buffalo, so that's awesome."

Lyon went on to add, "health is a major asset in this profession, so working on staying healthy is something I take very seriously, so I just gotta cross my Ts and dot my Is a little better and bring my attention to that a little bit more, but I'm feeling good now."

Between Lalonde's update on Talbot, Lyon's self-assessment, and Cossa's return to GR, it sounds as though Detroit will imminently have its full complement of goaltenders back at full health.

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