The Red Wings’ goaltending depth took another hit Thursday night. Starter John Gibson did not come out for the third period of Detroit’s 5-2 win over the Canucks at Rogers Arena, leaving with what was described during the broadcast as an upper-body injury. Coach Todd McLellan said after the game that the issue was with Gibson’s eye and was not believed to be serious.

Gibson had a quiet night before he left, stopping four of the five shots he faced through 40 minutes as Detroit dominated play. Michal Postava, recalled from the Grand Rapids Griffins on an emergency basis earlier Thursday, took over to start the third period and made his NHL debut, stopping seven of eight shots to close out the win.

The timing is rough for Detroit. Postava was only with the team because backup Daniil Tarasov was hurt at practice Wednesday, and Sheldon Dries was sent back to Grand Rapids to make room. If Gibson misses time, the Red Wings could need another goaltender from the Griffins for the rest of their four-game Western road trip.

Lucas Raymond scored twice and added an assist to lead the offense, with William Wallinder, Michael Rasmussen, and Emmitt Finnie also scoring. Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored for Vancouver, and Kevin Lankinen made 26 saves.

Gibson came into the night 2-3-1 with a 3.58 goals-against average and an .873 save percentage in six starts. Read our earlier story on Postava’s emergency recall.

Sources

• Detroit Hockey Now: John Gibson Exits Matchup with Vancouver Canucks; Postava Makes Relief Debut (Oct. 22)
• Field Level Media: Lucas Raymond’s 3-point effort propels Red Wings past skidding Canucks (Oct. 22)
• The Hockey News (via Yahoo Sports): Lucas Raymond Scores Twice, Red Wings Beat Canucks 5-2 (Oct. 22)
• NHL.com: Red Wings at Canucks game recap (Oct. 22)

Correction (October 26, 2026): This story originally said the team had not given an update on Gibson by early Friday and that Daniil Tarasov aggravated an injury earlier in the week. Coach Todd McLellan said after the game that Gibson’s issue was with his eye and not believed to be serious, and Tarasov was hurt at practice Wednesday. It has been corrected.