from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

“We’ve been accustomed around here to having real good goaltending from Howie,” Babcock said, “and we need him to be as good as he’s ever been down the stretch just because the depth of our lineup is different than it’s been.”

It’s no secret this hasn’t been Howard’s year — he was so subpar in November, it turned out to be beneficial when he suffered a fluke knee injury during a practice in early December in Tampa Bay. Howard used the layoff to recalibrate.

“The thing is, you can’t go out there and you can’t force things,” he said. “That’s what I tried to do earlier in the year, is really try to force the issue. Really what ended up happening was I had to take a step back and rethink things.

“It’s been a pretty topsy-turvy season, but I’m just trying to keep a positive mind frame. I have a lot of confidence in myself. Personally, I like this time of year because I find out what I’m made of.”

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