from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

"Petr played really well a few games in a row; I'm going to go to Howie here tonight," coach Jeff Blashill said following an optional morning skate. "I got belief in both of them. We're going to need both to be real good down the stretch. We need elite goaltending and we're going to need that from both of them."

Howard's last win was on Jan. 5 vs. Florida (4-2). He suffered a lower-body injury late in the game but finished. He missed the next game against Tampa Bay.

Since then Howard has gone 0-4, with a 4.62 goals-against average and .861 save percentage.

"Not every player scores every night and not every goalie is going to stop it every night, and I just think sometimes you get in a groove one way or the other," Blashill said. "He's had a chance here to go to work with (goaltending coach) Jeff Salajko. Both he and Petr work real hard at their game.

"I don't see anything from a technical standpoint that will preclude him from having lots of success tonight. But every game takes a life of its own. Hopefully the puck hits hit early and sticks to him and he feels good and he has a great game for us."

a bit more...