Sebastian Cossa’s NHL debut was shaping up as a disastrous night just minutes after he entered the game. It will instead be a night to remember for the Detroit Red Wings’ prized goaltending prospect.
The Red Wings battled back from a two-goal deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation Monday and defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 in a shootout at KeyBank Center.
Cossa, after backing up Ville Husso the previous three games, replaced Husso at the start of the second period. He stopped 12-of-14 shots over the final 45 minutes and 2-of-3 shots in the shootout.
The Red Wings (11-13-4) stopped a five-game slide (0-3-2).
“I don’t know how much sleep I’m going to be getting tonight, but really cool at the moment,” Cossa told media at the game.
Husso allowed three goals on just seven shots in the first period and the Red Wings trailed 3-2 when coach Derek Lalonde decided on the change.
“Just one of those nights where Ville did not look comfortable and it was a pretty easy decision,” Lalonde told FanDuel Sports Network.
“Great on Cossa. This is a really tough matchup for him, really tough situation to go in. There wasn’t a lot of volume but they’re a high-end skill team and he battled through it and found a way to get the full two points.”
Cossa said the intermission gave him time to prepare mentally.
“I was really focused on the first shot, got a save and obviously not the second,” Cossa said. “I wanted not to let in two, but the team stuck with it with some big goals in the third, and they helped me a lot in the third. It was pretty cool, to say the least.”
After Lucas Raymond tied it at 3-3 at 1:05 of the second, Nicolas Aube-Kabel and Jason Tucker scored before the midway mark of the period.
But Andrew Copp scored his second goal of the game at 10:27 of the third and Moritz Seider tied it with 4:18 to play.
A scoreless overtime set the stage for the Red Wings’ first shootout this season.
“I love shootouts, kind of just one-on-one, either the hero or the villain kind of,” Cossa said. “A lot of confidence in myself and my game. Cool to be able to do it at this level.”
Husso gave Cossa a scouting report on the likely shooters prior to the shootout.
“Huss was awesome,” Cossa said. “Even the first intermission when he knew that I was going in, the first guy to come up to me, wish me luck and just play my game.”
After Dylan Larkin scored the winning goal in the shootout, he retrieved the puck for Cossa.
“I feel really good for him,” Larkin told FanDuel. “He’s a great guy and he’s come in and been a great teammate. … Even after the first two that went in against him there’s not much you can do. We got to be better in front of him … but he made some huge saves in the third.”
Cossa is the first goalie in league history to enter in relief in his NHL debut and get a shootout win.
“That’s awesome,” he said. “I don’t think I’d rather have it a different way. All the pressure is on me, and I love that and couldn’t picture it better.”
Moritz Seider told FSN that Cossa played with composure.
“I think he lives for those kind of opportunities,” Seider said. “He worked really hard in practice, really deserved a chance. Obviously, we weren’t good enough in the first, didn’t really help out Huss. Still, we came together as a team and pulled out a great win here.”
Cossa originally planned on having his family in Fort McMurray, Alberta – about four hours north of Edmonton – fly in for his NHL debut. Instead, they watched from home due to the unexpected relief appearance.
“They’re probably sweating, pacing around right now, so obviously going to be my first call and a really, really special moment for me and my family tonight,” Cossa said.
