Joseph shines in awkward situation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It wasn't exactly business as usual for Curtis Joseph on Thursday night. Not only was he in goal for the first time since having surgery on his right ankle in August, he was playing for a team that has been trying to trade him for months.

"No question," he said. "With all that's gone on, there was a different feel before the game."

But Joseph was a bright spot in a dark 5-3 loss to the Predators. He allowed four goals on 23 shots. But none was bad -- two came on deflections, one on a screened shot and one on a rebound -- and he made some sharp saves.

Among the highlights: Just 3:15 into the game, he slid from his left to his right across the crease to stone Vladimir Orszagh. Late in the first period, he survived a scramble, finishing with a nice pokecheck on David Legwand.

"For his first performance," coach Dave Lewis said, "I thought he looked pretty strong."

Joseph said he couldn't have felt better physically. Asked if it was a relief just to get into a game again, Joseph said, "Well, I definitely want to play and play all the time, but I don't think that's going to be the case. I've got to take what I can get."

Joseph likely will be in goal again for the Wings, perhaps even on the three-game swing through western Canada that begins tonight at Edmonton. Dominik Hasek has a sore groin, and no deal is on the horizon.

Just because Joseph played well Thursday doesn't mean general manager Ken Holland expects his phone to start ringing off the hook. He believes he'll be able to trade Joseph, but it might take time.

"Some of the teams that have told me that they might have some interest, for right now their goaltending is doing a pretty good job," Holland said. "As I look around the league, most teams are probably pretty satisfied with their goaltending. . . .

"Now that I can showcase that he's healthy, I can start to go about the business of trying to contact teams and stay in touch with teams. . . . I think and expect and hope that a market's going to open itself up for Curtis. History tells you that as teams lose, things then start to change. . . .

"We're prepared to be creative. When I say creative, it's in players, in working on the contract. Is it prospects? Is it picks? Is it a trading of players? We're prepared to work financially. Obviously we know that we've got to do something financially to make it work. Nobody in this league is looking just to add another $8 million to their payroll. I use the word creative because there's so many different ways that I feel that a move can ultimately be made that works for everybody."