Ville Husso spotless in preseason Detroit Red Wings debut, but Wings fall, 2-0

Friday’s exhibition outing against the Washington Capitals at Little Caesars Arena was a slog at times, but it allowed the Wings to see more of prospects including Simon Edvinsson and Jonatan Berggren.

Veteran Capitals defenseman John Carlson broke a scoreless tie with a goal midway through the second period en route to handing the Wings a 2-0 loss. For the second straight game, they gave up an empty net goal late in the third period, this time to Lars Eller.

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Typical of exhibition season, the game lacked in entertainment. The Capitals had Alex Ovechkin in the lineup but not Anthony Mantha, the former Wings draft pick who was shipped to Washington at the 2021 trade deadline in the deal that brought Jakub Vrana to Detroit. (He didn’t play, either.)

Husso’s half

Husso, acquired in a trade and signed in the offseason for three years and $14.25 million, made 13 saves in 29:30 of ice time, ceding the net as planned during a timeout in the second period to Victor Brattstrom. There weren’t many quality scoring chances, though, but it was a chance for Husso to get acclimated to playing at LCA and with new teammates. Husso is likely to get into at least two more preseason games, and to play one of them in its entirety. Husso was brought in to strengthen the Wings’ goaltending, working in tandem with Alex Nedeljkovic. Brattstrom had been in the net two minutes when Carlson finished a cross-crease setup by Lucas Johansen.

Chiarot changes partner

Coach Derek Lalonde made good on his talk of seeing different pairings on defense, playing newcomer Ben Chiarot with Filip Hronek. Chiarot looked good with Moritz Seider through the first week of camp and one exhibition game. Chiarot has added offense from the back end, too, getting involved in plays and getting looks on power play units. “He’s got a better stick than I anticipated,” Lalonde said. “The first practice in camp, when we finished practice with a small-ice game, there were three goals and he had two of them — and they were legit, heavy shots, five-hole finish. We’re not going to lean on him or expect offense from him, but obviously anyone can chip in and his stick is better, his overall skill set is better, than I thought.”

Story continues

So much Soderblom

Elmer Soderblom, the 6-foot-8 forward out of Sweden, was in the lineup for the third straight exhibition matchup. He showed his inexperience with North American hockey at times, exposing the puck during a power play that led to a turnover and play going the other way down the ice. On the whole, though, through three games Soderblom has looked like a guy who can become a factor for the Wings.