Motivation and comfort help Jimmy Howard find success in the Detroit Red Wings’ net
If there’s one area where the Detroit Red Wings have been successful this season, it’s keeping pucks out of their net. The team’s best shot-blockers are one reason why the pucks are staying
out of the net, but the stellar play of goaltender Jimmy Howard is the other.
Since 2005, Howard has split time between the Red Wings and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. However, with the departure of backup goaltender Ty Conklin
at the end of the 2008-09 season, Howard finally cracked the roster, serving as veteran starter Chris Osgood’s backup.
Howard played well in each of his starts last season, and was a runner-up for the Calder Trophy as the National Hockey League’s top rookie as a result. His strong play has promoted him
to the starter’s role this season. He has run up a record of 11-2-2 thus far, and has shown no signs of slowing down.
By his own admission, Howard says that the only thing that has changed for him this season is his level of comfort in the Detroit net.
“The one thing that’s maybe a little different from last year is just that I’m more comfortable,” Howard told
NHL.com. “I know what to expect this year. I know how to handle things a little better. It’s still a learning process, but playing behind these guys is just special.”
Despite missing a few games due to back spasms early in the season, Howard has stood tall in the Red Wings’ net, making save after save to lead the team to victory. He has earned the confidence
of his team-mates in the process, including team captain Nicklas Lidstrom.
“We haven’t overlooked him one bit,” Lidstrom said of Howard. “He gives the whole team confidence when he’s playing well. We leave him out to dry sometimes, but he’s come up with big saves
when we've needed them. He’s been a big part of our early success.”
Another team-mate who has been impressed with Howard’s play is forward Darren Helm. Howard made many great saves as the Wings routed the St. Louis Blues 7-3 on Wednesday 17 November. He
made a particularly great skate save while the Blues were on a power play in the first period.
“When you score seven goals, you kind of forget about that save,” Helm said. “But he makes a lot of those types of saves. Without him back there, we don’t even have the opportunity to
stay with it and make that big push at the end.”
Howard has had lots of help on his way to earning the job as Detroit’s number one goaltender. He credits Osgood and former Red Wings goalie Dominik Hasek for helping him to improve his
game with their sound advice and veteran leadership. He has also studied their styles of play extensively, which has also proven to be useful. The advice they often imparted on him also help build his confidence level, which was often low.
“It was something I really had to work on,” Howard said of his confidence. “I was really getting on myself, but the more and more I worked with and watched Chris and Dom, I learned how
to just live in the moment and go game by game. Watching (Osgood) and seeing how stuff just rolls off his back really helped me.”
Howard also said that his time spent with the Griffins in the AHL has also been a vital part of his success with the Red Wings
“It was a work in progress,” Howard said. “There was no overnight success. It was four years of grinding it out down in the AHL and really learning how to become a professional. It was
just learning how to play night in and night out.”
With a budding young star like Howard manning the net in Detroit, there’s no telling how far the Red Wings can go this season. If Howard continues his great play, the Wings will certainly
earn another trip to the post-season.
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