Goal Line Report
Impressed With Howard
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/03/11 at 12:14 PM ET
Comments (6)
As a goaltender myself, I cannot help but appreciate what Detroit Red Wings netmider Jimmy Howard has done for his hockey club this season.
In 21 games this season, the 27-year-old netminder is 15-5-1 with a 1.83 goals against average, a .931 save percentage and 3 shutouts. His statistics have Howard first in the league in wins, 2nd in the league in both goals against and shutouts and 8th in the league in save percentage.
When it comes to goaltenders and Detroit, netminders are typically scrutinized. Tim Cheveldae was booed out of town, Mike Vernon was almost ran out of town after losing to the New Jersey Devils in the 1995 Stanley Cup Final and of course, Osgood was also carefully looked at because of the awful timing his soft goals would come and Manny Legace was also heavily scrutinized, especially when it came to the postseason.
With that said, all of these netminders ended up succeeding in one way or another, with the exception of Cheveldae of course, and right now, it looks like Howard is ready to do something special for the Wings. Howard never gives up on a play, is in position for second and third shots and knows how to control the game with his excpetional confidence.
It is nice to see a young netminder getting things done for one of the greatest and most storied franchises in the National Hockey League and given the way Howard has been playing this season, I believe that will continue.
What are your thoughts on Howard?
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: chris+osgood,
detroit+red+wings,
jimmy+howard,
manny+legace,
mike+vernon,
tim+cheveldae
Comments
I think that Howie has now turned a corner in the “I know I can dominate games in this league” area. Hes always had a confidence about him. Even when he wasn’t playing well last season, you never got the sense with him that mentally he was going to fold. The kid has swagger, a swagger that reminds me of Roy. Now that he knows how consistently good he can be in this league, I think we are all going to be in for a treat. From what I’ve read, hes also one of the hardest working Red Wings. Finally to top it off he flat out loves the game. I think the Wings finally have a goalie in this town that can steal games. The team in front of him, I think, is also growing a swagger due to the confidence they have in him. They can play looser hockey and its been showing over the last 10 to 12 games. Long story short, the kid is pretty f-in awesome.
This is a nice read and the kid: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=604174
Posted by CRoy from Redford MI on 12/03/11 at 01:13 PM ET
Jimmah Highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtN3A0461m4
Posted by Mattimeo from windsor on 12/03/11 at 02:33 PM ET
Jimmy hangs dong!
Posted by 42jeff from The greater Howard City, MI metroplex on 12/03/11 at 03:04 PM ET
#3 STAR IN THE LEAGUE LAST NIGHT. i THINK THAT IS A GOOD THING
Posted by Rdwings28 on 12/03/11 at 04:13 PM ET
He’s not even on the all-star ballot. The NHL has their elbow on the pulse of the game.
Posted by redxblack from Akron Ohio on 12/03/11 at 04:47 PM ET
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Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla's Korner, you can also find Patrick's work over at Sportsnet.ca, The Red Light District Hockey Blog, NHL Home Ice, and Liam Maguire's Ultimate Hockey web site.
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Pretty sure you mean 1995, 2005 there wasn’t even a Stanley Cup Final.
Posted by tgummerer on 12/03/11 at 12:55 PM ET