It wasn’t that Red Wings rookie Michal Postava won in his first NHL start. It was the way he helped knock off the Edmonton Oilers.
There may be nothing more frightening than recording your first NHL start against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and a team that is second in the league in scoring with 51 goals (48 goals before Postava faced them).
Add in the shootout so the Red Wings could skate away with two points? Few would have thought any rookie goaltender capable. Yet Postava sealed the Red Wings’ win on Monday night when he denied McDavid, Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the shootout.
Thanks to Lucas Raymond scoring in the shootout and Postava stopping three of Edmonton’s best scorers, Detroit snuck away with a big win two days after losing to a winnable opponent.
What a way for Postava to kick off his NHL career after he made a cameo in the final period against the Vancouver Canucks a few days back. He didn’t look half bad against the mighty Oilers, stopping 25 of 28 shots, good for an .893 save percentage.
Overall, Postava now has an .889 save percentage and a 2.89 GAA on his early-career resume.
Michal Postava Turning Heads For The Detroit Red Wings
This time last season, Sebastian Cossa was going to be the guy in the net for Detroit. Perhaps sidling in as a backup in Detroit for a season before taking the net as the full-time starter in 2027-28 or 2028-29.
Then Postava came out of nowhere in Grand Rapids. He posted a .937 save percentage, a 1.71 GAA, and four shutouts across 25 games. He went 17-6-1 as a starter, and he followed up his regular-season success in the postseason with a 4-4 record, a .912 save percentage, a 2.09 GAA, and a shutout.
After looking good in four of his appearances in Grand Rapids this season, Postava deserved and got the call-up when Daniil Tarasov went down with an injury. When Gibson had something land in his eye following the first two periods of Detroit’s win over the Canucks, Postava made his Red Wings regular-season debut.
Now that he has played well against the Edmonton Oilers, the question is: what can he do against teams without facing two of arguably the best forwards in the game?
Not to mention that the Oilers also have Evan Bouchard, one of the highest-scoring defensemen in hockey. Given Postava’s play in Grand Rapids and Detroit, chances are he would more than hold his own.
Postava Makes His Case To Be Detroit’s Future Number-One Goaltender
It was just one game and one start. But still, Postava is 1-for-1, and beating a team that averaged over four goals per game is an incredible momentum boost. Better yet, Detroit now knows it has impeccable organizational depth at goaltender following Postava’s solid outing.
In only his age-24 season, Postava took one step closer to becoming the main guy in Detroit’s net in the future. John Gibson is in his age-33 season and won’t be there forever. Daniil Tarasov is a great backup and, at best, a 1B. So, for the time being, the future is Postava’s job to lose.
Now, we will see if he keeps up his momentum and stays consistent. Whether that is in the NHL with the Red Wings or if he returns to Grand Rapids and continues his epic play there.
Red Wings Rookie Pulls Off Something Few Expected Against Oilers