Howard loss a big blow for Red Wings
It was another back-breaking blow for the Red Wings Tuesday night.
After a collision in the crease with rookie defenseman Nick Jensen and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Erik Condra, Howard was seen writhing in pain in his own crease. He had to be helped off the ice and didn’t put any pressure on his right leg. It was announced Wednesday that Howard was placed on seven-day injured reserve.
It’s unfortunate timing for a team not only trying to climb back up in the standings, but one already decimated by injuries. And for Howard, too, who just returned from a minor groin injury.
Despite holding a sparkling 1.96 goals-against average and .934 save percentage, Howard’s record reads 5-7-1. It’s hard to fathom, but the reason is that the five players in front of him have been unable to find the back of the net. Even upon his recent return – though the game against Arizona wasn’t his best outing – the Wings still only managed two goals in the three starts he made before the Tampa Bay game.
In the latest issue of MiHockeyMag, we looked at how solid Howard has been this season when called upon and how the Wings have had trouble scoring.
Here is the article in its entirety (written as of Dec. 12):
Howard’s efforts receiving little offensive support
By @StefanKubus –
With the NHL’s second-best goals-against average and save percentage this season as of Dec. 12, it’s hard to fathom how Detroit Red Wings netminder Jimmy Howard does not have a winning record to his name.
Howard owns a 1.68 goals-against average and .945 save percentage to go along with his baffling 5-5-1 record.
Plainly put, he has not received the goal support from the five guys in front of him thus far. In fact, in Howard’s 12 full starts, the Wings have scored a diminutive 15 goals. That’s an average of just 1.25 per game, the lowest goal support of any goaltender in the league.
After losing the starting job to young Petr Mrazek last season, Howard is in the midst of not only a bounce-back season, but a campaign worthy of an All-Star Game appearance.
A brief injury suffered in late November may have dimmed the reality of him heading to Los Angeles for the league’s mid-season classic, but the good news for Detroit is that he’s back between the pipes.
Howard had a chance to shake off the rust on Nov. 9 against Columbus, as he entered the game in relief of Petr Mrazek and stopped all seven shots he faced.
“It felt good,” Howard said of his first taste of action since coming off the injured reserve list. “It’s important to get out there and, when you can, get the minutes.”
Two days later, it was more of the same; Howard allowed just one goal on 36 shots, but took a 1-0 overtime loss to Philadelphia.
“I think we just need to get bodies to the net,” Howard said. “When pucks aren’t going in, you’ve got to get dirty ones and you’ve gotta get ones that are just crashing the net, that don’t look pretty.”
And that’s not just a problem this season.
It’s been a problem plaguing Detroit for a few seasons. Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill echoed his goaltender’s thoughts, saying it comes down to altering the mindset when entering the zone on offense.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of going to the net and shooting pucks,” Blashill said. “We’re passing up shots … We’ve got to decide we want to shoot the puck, we’ve got to decide we want to go to the net. It’s been an issue here for three years, 5-on-5 offense, we’ve gotta decide we’re gonna change it. Until we do that, we’re not gonna score enough.”
Blashill added that it’s certainly not a matter of effort with his group, but rather the desire to win resulting in players trying to make plays when they should just get the puck to the net instead.
“Our guys try their asses off. They want to win, there’s no question about it. It has nothing to do with an effort thing at all. Part of the problem is they want to make plays because they want to win. A lot of guys, their natural mindset is to make a play instead of whose natural mindset is to go a little more north-south and go to the net. So we’re trying to change a mindset that’s been here for a long time and as the league gets harder and harder, we’ve got to find ways to make sure that we’re going to the net and shooting the puck. It’s just something I’m going to have to get this team convinced they have to do. If they do that, we’ll be a real good team.”
The Red Wings’ bench boss said there are four ways to change his team’s habits: talk about the problem, show it on video, yell about it or take away ice time.
“It’s a message that’s been ongoing,” Blashill said. “We have to drill it, we have to show it, we have to try any way we can to make sure we do that. I don’t know if it’s that easy, but that’s what teams do in the league that score.”
Despite the lack of goals on the scoresheet, the team has been trending in the right direction with regards to playing a complete game. Howard said if the effort and steadfast belief continues, the bounces should start going their way.
“You’ve just got to have that stick-to-itiveness and that attitude that we’re gonna come out of this, and it’s as simple as going out there and working hard.”