ANAHEIM, Calif. — Unless you are the Carolina Hurricanes or Buffalo Sabres and willingly employ a three-man goaltending rotation, it isn’t a good sign when a team has its third option making regular starts.
There are worse times to put all your faith in a No. 3 than the first week of December, but that is where the Anaheim Ducks are at as Lukáš Dostál and Petr Mrázek nurse injuries. With the Ducks sitting at the top of a packed-tight Pacific Division and playing their most consequential games in years every night, they’ve turned to Ville Husso to keep the momentum going.
That won’t be easy. Facing a slumping, desperate Utah Mammoth team in their last game, the Ducks bombed on a national stage in a 7-0 loss that was the worst home defeat in franchise history. On top of that, it was also the worst by score margin and shutout margin since a 7-0 road walloping by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 13, 2022. There have been other wipeouts since, but this is the first time in many years that the Ducks are playing as a team trying to show it’s serious about having playoff hockey at Honda Center.
It was a serious reality check as they head into a Friday game against the scorching hot Washington Capitals. The Ducks have raised the stakes with their thrill-a-minute push to the top of the Pacific Division, but a pedestrian 5-7-0 record since their seven-game winning streak shows how the opposition sees them in a new light — and has raised its game.
“We want to hold ourselves to the highest possible standard,” said second-year captain Radko Gudas, who used the word “unacceptable” to describe Wednesday’s performance. “We think very highly of ourselves. We want to be better every day, and this wasn’t the case (Wednesday). It’s a big learning process. This one stings, especially coming back home in front of our fans. We never want to have games like that, especially in our own barn.”
The flat effort was unlike anything the Ducks had put forth so far, but their knack for repeatedly falling behind and either pulling off multiple comebacks or mustering up late victorious rallies was bound to catch up with them. Opposing teams have ratcheted up the physical play, and they’re saving their best goalie for Anaheim now. It’s on the Ducks to show they have more to their game than playing in high gear.
“I think you got to expect every team’s best no matter where this season is and what’s going on,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “I think we’ve got to take care of our own business and expect a hockey game. And knowing that the balance and the parity in the division and the league, I don’t think it’s ever been tighter or closer. Anybody can do that to anybody on any given night.
“(The Mammoth) came off a (6-3 loss to San Jose) where they got comparably the score against them and then they responded. Let’s move on. Let’s be positive and work our way out of this.”
Ville Husso and the Ducks got a reality check against the Utah Mammoth, but the next step is moving on. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
The first thing is being better in front of their goaltenders. Dostál, who has an upper-body ailment incurred during practice early last week, isn’t behind them covering up their defensive breakdowns, of which there have been many. He has been on the ice again, and Quenneville said he is progressing and remains on an initial two-to-three-week timeline.
That can still mean another seven games out of action, though. While Mrázek has been a decided step down from Dostál’s game-changing level of play, he was counted on to support his Czech countryman. The 33-year-old veteran was forced to leave Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks because of what is believed to be a groin issue. He hasn’t returned to the ice and, per Quenneville, is on a similar recovery timetable as Dostál.
Now, unexpectedly, it is Husso’s net. The 30-year-old Finn started this season with the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League. He re-signed with the Ducks for two years at a surprising $2.2 million average annual value on the same day Anaheim got Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for longtime starter John Gibson.
The financial terms are nice, but the goalie with 141 NHL starts still opted to stay in Anaheim, even though it was likely he’d be playing another 95 miles further south in the AHL. Husso based his decision on positive experiences he’s had since coming from the Red Wings himself in a salary dump last February.
“Jeff Glass, the goalie coach (with the Gulls), did a hell of a job with me,” Husso said. “Just felt good again. I got the couple games up here, too, with (Ducks goalie coach Peter Budaj). Just everything is clicking. But for me, it was the biggest thing to feel very comfortable here. Just seeing it as a good spot for myself to get better. Good environment. Good people around, and you want to play for these guys and do anything in the practices you can to help.”
Husso added that “it’s tough to beat the weather, too” between Anaheim and San Diego. Remaining with the Ducks and forsaking any other NHL opportunities in free agency was about continuing to right himself. Illness and injury mixed with substandard play had made it difficult to live up to a three-year, $14.25 million unrestricted free agency contract with Detroit following a breakout 2021-22 season with the St. Louis Blues.
Being in rehab mode away from his Red Wings teammates and unable to practice or play regularly — he played only 28 games with Detroit over 2023-24 and 2024-25 — also wasn’t ideal. Husso understood the Red Wings’ decision to cut bait.
“A team like Detroit, they haven’t been in the playoffs for a long time,” he said. “They got to make some decisions.”
He has found an atmosphere in Anaheim more to his liking. It has brought him back to when he was a “Black Ace” during the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup run before grabbing the net in the 2022 playoffs.
“I’ve seen it, and I feel like there’s a lot of similar stuff happening here,” Husso said. “The atmosphere and everything. The rink is buzzing. Fans are excited. Everything is just like clicking. It’s something that I wanted to be a part of.”
As third options go, the Ducks could do a lot worse. It was Husso who got the call instead of Mrázek for Anaheim’s Black Friday game against the rival Los Angeles Kings, and he delivered big saves at the end of regulation and in overtime as the Ducks rallied for a 5-4 shootout victory. After coming in for the injured Mrázek in Chicago, Husso returned to St. Louis on Monday and made 21 saves in a 4-1 win over his old team.
The energy around Anaheim is “something that I wanted to be a part of,” Ville Husso said. (Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
“I think organizationally, we feel very fortunate to have the depth we do in that department,” Quenneville said. “You get through periods in the summer where everybody’s looking for the third goalie because, you know, over the course of the season and heading into playoff time, they become very important to your team. And sometimes they end up being the guy.
“We’re seeing him at an early part of our season, where it’s an important stretch for us. I thought he delivered a couple of great games for us right off the bat here. Very solid in St. Louis. So, it’s a great opportunity for him, but he’s not unfamiliar with the net. We’re going to put him in net here and see how he handles it. We’re very happy and comfortable with what he brings us.”
The Ducks didn’t make it very comfortable for him in his start on Wednesday. Husso was beaten for first-period goals by Utah’s Lawson Crouse and Dylan Guenther, but he foiled Michael Carcone and JJ Peterka to save Anaheim from other breakdowns. However, after second-period goals by Ian Cole and Peterka, Quenneville gave Husso the third period off.
Vyacheslav Buteyets, a 2022 sixth-round pick, was thrown into the fire for his NHL debut. Buteyets, 23, was with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers less than three weeks ago and had a three-game stopover in San Diego. Now he’s an NHL backup.
“Peter Budaj came to the locker room and say that I’m jumping in,” said Buteyets, who allowed three goals on 13 shots. “I can’t say that I was surprised because all the coaches (were) telling me that I have always been ready. So that’s what I was, and I was ready and I was going for it. NHL game, especially at home in Anaheim, it means a lot for me, and I’m so appreciative to the club. Of course, it was exciting for me, and I was waiting for this game.”
As for Husso, he knows how the fortunes of an NHL goalie can change. He’ll be tasked with not being what derails the Ducks until Dostal returns, and that could mean an abbreviated stay with Anaheim. There are only so many spots on an NHL roster.
“I know I can play in this league,” Husso said. “Just get those reps in San Diego early and playing games. Now, unfortunately, both guys are out, so then it’s my time. Just got to be ready. Whatever can happen. I think that’s something I learned the last two, three years a lot. Just being patient and ready.”