Red Wings’ John Gibson leaves game with lower-body injury

As if Hockeytown needs even more bad news.

As the second period between the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning began Tuesday night, Red Wings goaltender John Gibson didn’t take the ice. The team later announced that Gibson wouldn’t return to the contest due to a lower-body injury.

Gibson gave up two goals on 13 shots in the opening 20 minutes, as the Red Wings found themselves trailing 2-0 heading into the first intermission. Daniil Tarasov entered the game in relief, less than 24 hours after earning the win against his former team, the Florida Panthers.

This is far from the first time Gibson has been hurt in his NHL career, and it isn’t the first time he’s had to prematurely leave a game this season. Back on Oct. 22, he suffered an upper-body injury in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, but returned to the crease two nights later.

While it’s too early to tell the severity of Gibson’s injury and how long he could be out of action, Detroit doesn’t have a whole lot of time to waste, as the team returns home on Thursday night to host the Vegas Golden Knights. If Gibson’s injury is more than a small tweak, expect Michal Postava to be called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Red Wings’ American Hockey League affiliate. Postava picked up a win in his first NHL start last Monday and was just named the AHL’s goaltender of the month.

Gibson has been Detroit’s No. 1 netminder since he came to the Original Six franchise in June 2025. However, he hasn’t nearly had as strong a start to this season as he did last year. In his first 10 starts, the 33-year-old is 4-5-1, with a 3.37 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage.