Simply by the luck of the draw, and thanks to a couple of injuries, Red Wings goaltender Ty Conklin has started both of the two NHL games played outdoors, and he is likely to be in net Thursday when the Chicago Blackhawks host Detroit at Wrigley Field.

Getting the call for the Winter Classic would make Conklin the only NHL player to appear in all three outdoor contests. The 32-year-old Anchorage native signed with Detroit before the season to back up Chris Osgood, but the No. 1 guy is out with a groin injury.

Osgood has bounced back quickly, and according to Mike Mouat with the Detroit Red Wings Examiner, he participated in full practice Monday for the first time in three weeks. Osgood’s status for Thursday is uncertain, but Mouat pointed out that he’s seen new goalie pads with the crest from the 1926 replica jerseys that the Red Wings will wear at Wrigley -- and they belong to Conklin.

Whatever weather strikes Chicago Thursday, Conklin will have seen it all already. He manned the net and couldn’t break a sweat in sub-zero temperatures during the inaugural event in Edmonton. That was Nov. 22, 2003, when he and the Oilers lost a 4-3 decision to the Montreal Canadiens. Staying warm when the puck was down in the other end was a problem.

At Ralph Wilson Stadium in suburban Buffalo last New Year’s Day, Conklin was the starter for the Pittsburgh Penguins when No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was hurt. Visibility was the issue in Conklin's second outdoor encounter, as temperature readings were higher but swirling snow created a winter wonderland. Conklin stopped 36 shots and claimed a 2-1 shootout victory over the Sabres.

One of the lasting visual images of the Buffalo game was of Penguins star Sidney Crosby, decked in Pittsburgh’s vintage powder-blue jersey with arms raised, celebrating his game-winning shootout goal with snow falling all around.

The lone goal off Conklin was scored by Brian Campbell, a Sabres defenseman who ripped a wrist shot over the goalie’s shoulder early in the second period. Campbell will be in a Blackhawks jersey Thursday, when he will become just the third NHL player to appear in more than one outdoor game. Montreal wing Georges Laraque was Conklin’s teammate with both Edmonton and Pittsburgh for the two previous events.

After parts of three seasons in Edmonton, Conklin has been on four teams since the start of the 2006-07 campaign. Yet, he’s managed to be in line to play all three outdoor games.

“Either I follow it around, or it follows me around,” Conklin recently told Chris Johnston of The Canadian Press. “I don’t know which is which.” One thing Conklin does know is that he’ll be ready to go when the puck drops at the Friendly (Winter) Confines on New Year’s Day.