One start doesn't prove Michal Postava should be the Detroit Red Wings' starting goaltender. He walked into Rogers Place for his first NHL start, got handed the toughest building in the Western Conference, and stopped Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the shootout, the two leading scorers in the league through late October. Detroit won 4-3 on Oct. 26. If you want that to settle the depth chart, you're going to lose the argument, because it shouldn't.
⚡ Upset:Red Wings had a 34% chance before puck drop and beat Oilers 4–3.
27%
Postava allowed three goals in regulation, one on the power play and one off a tipped point shot. The save everyone will replay came late in overtime, on Evan Bouchard's wrist shot from the slot with nine seconds left. He made 25 saves, then stopped all three shooters in the shootout. Lucas Raymond buried the only shootout goal and added two assists in regulation. It was a strong, poised night from a goalie who was a name nobody outside Grand Rapids could pick out of a lineup a month ago. It was also one night. Even a night this good against opponents this good isn't a body of NHL work, and anyone telling you otherwise should be ignored.
The goalie question in Detroit got answered before Postava faced a shot, and his own coach did it. Todd McLellan benched John Gibson outright for this game. Gibson is a 14-year veteran and a three-time All-Star making real money to be the No. 1, and entering the Oilers game he was 3-4-1 with a 3.44 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage, miles off his career marks of .909 and 2.88. When a coach pulls a well-paid incumbent and hands the toughest road start of the trip to a goalie making his first career start, he's already told you what he thinks of the incumbent.
RatingThe only reason this became Postava's moment is that the goalie who's actually earned more net is hurt. Daniil Tarasov has been the best of the bunch when available, with a 1-0-1 record, a .965 save percentage and a 0.80 goals-against average across three appearances before an injury shelved him. With Tarasov out and Gibson scuffling, Detroit reached down and found an undrafted free agent who went 17-6-0 with a 1.71 goals-against average, a .937 save percentage and four shutouts in the AHL last season, then opened this fall 4-0 in Grand Rapids. McLellan didn't treat the win as a lottery ticket either. He said they had a pretty good idea Postava was exactly what they saw, and pointed out the current exhibition schedule gives young goalies almost no runway, which he called a raw deal for them.
Postava deserves a long look. He became just the third Red Wings goaltender in the past quarter century to win his first NHL start, joining Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard, and he did it by containing the two best players in the sport when it counted. The win nudged Detroit to 5-4-3 and capped a modest 2-1-1 road trip. Edmonton, one of the league's best teams at 8-2-2, lost its second straight.
Postava walked into a hierarchy that was already wobbling, held by a goalie his coach would rather not play, waiting on a backup who can't suit up. Gibson cleared the net for him days earlier. One great night doesn't change who's responsible for that.
