The highs and lows of Detroit Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard, Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Sharp-NHL News
The 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) season turned out to be the lowest point of Detroit Red Wings’ goaltender, Jimmy Howard, and Chicago Blackhawks’ forward, Patrick Sharp, due to respective injury problems, yet they have few occasions to share their
joy over.
One of the changes, which the players had in common this year, was that both of them have become fathers, for the first time.
It provided them with an alternate option to take away their attention from injury problems and cope with them in an effective way.
Sharp had to sit out two to three weeks after getting his wrist fractured in a game against the Red Wings.
It was the most frustrating period of his career. He, however, was able to get himself busy with his daughter, Madelyn Grace, who was born on December 26, 2011.
The time he spent with his daughter while foolishly and insanely playing with her is described to the best.
He said:
"You work all summer and at the start of the season to have a great year as a team an individually, and I feel like it was going that way for a while there. Then just to break your wrist in mid-January is a tough time to do it, but there's no excuses. I
can still put the puck in the net and be a contributor."
The player still might need a surgery on the broken wrist in the offseason. However, till then he remains fit and available for the side.
His presence in the team was even more crucial given Blackhawks’ captain, Jonathan Toews, is out with a concussion problem and has already missed 22 games.
In his absence, Sharp has performed the role of the team leader and served well to the playoff cause of the team. Now, with 33 goals, he is the leading scorer for Chicago Blackhawks.
Equally lucky has remained Detroit Red Wings’ goaltender, Jimmy Howard, who was blessed with a son, James Russell Howard IV, on October 23, 2011.
The players has described the time he spends with his son a good source of relieving the work-related stress. The phase injury, which suffered later in the season, provided him with an opportunity to stay away from worries of injuries.
So, the players have the fatherhood factor as the common source of keeping themselves busy and pleased during difficult times.
Both players will be facing each other this Saturday, when Detroit Red Wings play Chicago Blackhawks in the closing game of the season in Detroit.
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