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gbdet

Howard starting tonight

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I was hoping Howard would get the nod.

http://www.mlive.com/weblogs/snapshots/

"Howie gets the nod vs. Philly; Markov to return

Jimmy Howard will get an NHL start tonight, and John Niyo says that he may face Flyers back-up Michael Leighton at the other end of the ice:

February 12, Detroit News: Jimmy Howard , who was called up from Grand Rapids to back up Joey MacDonald on Sunday, will get the start tonight against the Flyers."

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/stories/inde....xml&coll=1

"MacDonald will start tonight in Philadelphia, backed up again by Jimmy Howard, the top goaltending prospect in the organization, who was recalled from Grand Rapids (AHL). "

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Let Mac play tonight.

He's young, needs every NHL-experience he can get and he's young enough to play back-to-back games ;)

Why would you play Howard ?

For what ?

Because Howard just made 63 0f 66 saves in his last 2 games in GR.

And I think Detroit would like to have him play at least one NHL game this year.

And who better to give him the nod against than Philly.

That being said, I think Joey will get the nod.

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And I think Detroit would like to have him play at least one NHL game this year.

That's really not an argument IMO.

Mac had to wait long for his first win and the odds are not very high he'll play a hell of a lot more this year.

So let him play tonight while he can.

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Neither is Joey.

I don't know about you but at least I would prepare Joey for the playoffs as much as possible. It's him that the Wings are gonna use should the need arise, not Howard. Like it made any difference if you played one NHL game this season or not.

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...so, forgive my niavity, but WTF is up with Osgood? Is he injured that bad? I haven't been paying too much attention to who was backing up Hasek...

...either way, it looks like the Wings might need to address the goalie situation before the deadline, with Osgood out. I know Holland will not go into the playoffs with MacDonald or Howard backing up Hasek, will he?

...bring on Biron...

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If the Wings go sleepy for 40+ minutes of this game, ya'll might get to see Howard and Mac, and possibly the zamboni driver in net.

Hopefully they are not taking this game lightly... how embarrassing would that be, to get blown out by Phillie? :huh:

What is up with Ozzie? Good question. :unsure:

Edit: tsn now says Howard tonight, too.

Edited by puckloo39

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http://tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=10460&hubname=

It was just posted above me, but TSN is indeed calling it for Howard, as well.

Let Mac play tonight.

He's young, needs every NHL-experience he can get and he's young enough to play back-to-back games

Why would you play Howard ?

For what ?

You would play Howard because he's youngER than MacDonald, and fits into the Red Wings future plans - MacDonald does not. I said this in the last Joey Mac thread: he's been on the roster all year long and it's February before he gets a win. Granted, he played well enough to earn a win or two along the way, but to say he's an NHL goalie is really stretching it. The Red Wings are putting their faith into Jimmy Howard, and while Joey MacDonald has earned a spot on the roster by sitting shotgun (or backseat) and not bitched, this is professional hockey, not your house pee-wee league.

Don't mistake Joey MacDonald's presence on the roster as superiority in net over Jimmy Howard. Howard can benefit from a full season of playing in Grand Rapids. Joey MacDonald, already the Griffins' all-time leader in Wins, can not.

Not to mention, I'm sure I'm not the only one who isn't sold on Jimmy Howard yet - he has flashes of brilliance, but he's no Brodeur, so any looks we can get at him is alright by me. Might as well start from the bottom - and by the bottom, I mean a game against the worst team on Earth - IN Philly where they've won 3 games all season.

I don't know about you but at least I would prepare Joey for the playoffs as much as possible. It's him that the Wings are gonna use should the need arise, not Howard. Like it made any difference if you played one NHL game this season or not.

I disagree with you. I think that in an emergency situation in the playoffs - the Red Wings would turn to their BEST remaining goaltender. That is NOT Joey MacDonald. MacDonald has been on the roster all season but - like I said before - he's not the thrid best goalie we have - he's the most convenient piece we have to occupy the spot he's occupying. It's Stefan Liv's first season in North America, it doesn't need to be spent counting faceoffs. Jimmy Howard is the future of the Red Wings Net, so his time shouldn't be wasted sitting on a bench in the walkway to the ice.

...so, forgive my niavity, but WTF is up with Osgood? Is he injured that bad? I haven't been paying too much attention to who was backing up Hasek...

...either way, it looks like the Wings might need to address the goalie situation before the deadline, with Osgood out. I know Holland will not go into the playoffs with MacDonald or Howard backing up Hasek, will he?

...bring on Biron...

What IS up with Osgood? That dude cannot stay healthy to save his life, and a "day-to-day" injury becomes a life-threatening month somehow.

That said, there's no way the Wings deal for a third NHL-calibre goaltender (excluding Joey MacDonald). With Osgood under contract next year, and the way Hasek has played this year (probably earning himself another year if he wants it), Joey MacDonald playing "that guy" behind the bench, Jimmy Howard probably inching closer to the NHL, what do we do with Biron's remaining tenure on his contract?

Sorry to ramble (not that anyone reads my lengthy posts anyway haha) but I'm very opinionated about Joey MacDonald and his role on the Detroit Red Wings.

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I disagree with you. I think that in an emergency situation in the playoffs - the Red Wings would turn to their BEST remaining goaltender. That is NOT Joey MacDonald. MacDonald has been on the roster all season but - like I said before - he's not the thrid best goalie we have - he's the most convenient piece we have to occupy the spot he's occupying. It's Stefan Liv's first season in North America, it doesn't need to be spent counting faceoffs. Jimmy Howard is the future of the Red Wings Net, so his time shouldn't be wasted sitting on a bench in the walkway to the ice.

I don't totally disagree with you, I think there's a valid point in what you're saying. I just have a hard time believing that Wings would throw in someone as inexperienced as Howard in the playoffs, no matter his ability or potential. Judging by the way he's being handled by this organisation so far, management is being very careful and patient with his development. And knowing the expectations that are set on our goalies in the playoffs, I think it's too much to handle for a goalie prospect (hopefully I'm wrong though). Our goalies always have to take too much of the heat after playoff disappointments. It could be at least somewhat detrimental to Jimmys development should he fail in the playoffs and be ousted in the early rounds.

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I don't totally disagree with you, I think there's a valid point in what you're saying. I just have a hard time believing that Wings would throw in someone as inexperienced as Howard in the playoffs, no matter his ability or potential. Judging by the way he's being handled by this organisation so far, management is being very careful and patient with his development. And knowing the expectations that are set on our goalies in the playoffs, I think it's too much to handle for a goalie prospect (hopefully I'm wrong though). Our goalies always have to take too much of the heat after playoff disappointments. It could be at least somewhat detrimental to Jimmys development should he fail in the playoffs and be ousted in the early rounds.

FinWing,

Joey is just as inexperienced as Howard is at the NHL level. Joey has one more NHL start than Joey does.

Edited by Heaton

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I don't totally disagree with you, I think there's a valid point in what you're saying. I just have a hard time believing that Wings would throw in someone as inexperienced as Howard in the playoffs, no matter his ability or potential. Judging by the way he's being handled by this organisation so far, management is being very careful and patient with his development. And knowing the expectations that are set on our goalies in the playoffs, I think it's too much to handle for a goalie prospect (hopefully I'm wrong though). Our goalies always have to take too much of the heat after playoff disappointments. It could be at least somewhat detrimental to Jimmys development should he fail in the playoffs and be ousted in the early rounds.

You're absoolutely right about taking it slow with the development of Howard. However, the time is going to come when he needs to play in the playoffs and if both Hasek and Osgood go down, I want the best player we have left.

Howard IS, as you say, inexperienced. And no, I don't want an inexperienced goaltender in the nets in April and May. But he's hardly more inexperienced than MacDonald. Last night, Joey played in his 7th NHL game. Jimmy Howard has played in four.

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FinWing,

Joey is just as inexperienced as Howard is at the NHL level. Joey has one more NHL start than Joey does.

So you don't think AHL experience means anything? I think Joey is quite a bit more experienced in that aspect. Surely he won't become as good a goalie as Jimmy one day but would you really be that much more comfortable having Howard as a starter in NHL playoffs THIS SEASON?

I'm not saying that we'd actually be better off with Joey as the starter but I think he would get the nod over Howard this season. Let's just hope that we don't have to worry about that at all.

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Surely he won't become as good a goalie as Jimmy one day but would you really be that much more comfortable having Howard as a starter in NHL playoffs THIS SEASON?

I actually would be more comfortable having Howard in net than MacDonald for reasons you've already brought up -- AHL experience. Howard has played most of the season (besides an injury here or there), as opposed to MacDonald who's sat on his keester the majority of the year.

However, to second your motion -- let's hope we don't have to worry at all! Yay Hasek's groin! Boo Osgood's finger!

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I actually would be more comfortable having Howard in net than MacDonald for reasons you've already brought up -- AHL experience. Howard has played most of the season (besides an injury here or there), as opposed to MacDonald who's sat on his keester the majority of the year.

However, to second your motion -- let's hope we don't have to worry at all! Yay Hasek's groin! Boo Osgood's finger!

Yeah, let's hope for the best and fear for the worst. :P Luckily this worst-case scenario of goalie selection is extremely unlikely.

It's pretty much up to Doms health if we're Cup contenders or not.

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I think it is good that Howard is starting tonite. He would have been the third goakie this year if MacDonald had other waiver options. Back in July I wrote Hollard a hand written letter expressing my desire for the Wings to let Jimmy take the reigns as #1 this year. I was told ny Hollands secretary that he answers all letters. Well, he did not answer mine, nor did the Wings do what I had hoped. Oh well. The Wings have been my favorite sports team since 1969 when as a 9 year old I saw my first game. More than a few times a rookie has come in and shined in the playoffs after being seasoned during the regular season. Wa and Cam Ward come to mind. Unless the Wings are auditioning Howard tonite for a Forsberg deal (I hope not!), I believe he will be the Red Wings starting goalie next fall regardless of what happens the rest of this year. Best of all though, my 6 year old son gets to see his favorite player start in net tonight!

Jeff

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I think it is good that Howard is starting tonite. He would have been the third goakie this year if MacDonald had other waiver options. Back in July I wrote Hollard a hand written letter expressing my desire for the Wings to let Jimmy take the reigns as #1 this year. I was told ny Hollands secretary that he answers all letters. Well, he did not answer mine, nor did the Wings do what I had hoped. Oh well. The Wings have been my favorite sports team since 1969 when as a 9 year old I saw my first game. More than a few times a rookie has come in and shined in the playoffs after being seasoned during the regular season. Wa and Cam Ward come to mind. Unless the Wings are auditioning Howard tonite for a Forsberg deal (I hope not!), I believe he will be the Red Wings starting goalie next fall regardless of what happens the rest of this year. Best of all though, my 6 year old son gets to see his favorite player start in net tonight!

Jeff

Good for both you and your son buddy! :):thumbup: I'm also eager to see Howard take the step up to NHL level permanently next season. It would be great to have the first 'home-grown' Red Wings' starting goalie out there since Ozzie (I believe...).

And he definitely has more upside than Joey Mac, no doubt about it.

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I see no problem with Howard starting tonight. If hes up in the bigs and we are conditioning him to be our next starter why not give him a game? Mac is only on the roster in case of emergency where Hasek or Osgood cant play. Noone expected that both of them would be hurt at the same time and now that it happened the Wings had to bring up two inexperienced goalies, why not let the one with the most potential and being bred as the next big thing get a shot at showing how he has come along?

And I will say it now, I like Jimmy and want to see him play no matter the circumstance

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Both of those reports about who was starting came from the Detroit News. Early they said it was Howard (and markov would be back) but later updated to say that McDonald would start (and no Markov). Perhaps they just assumed it was going to be Howard, but someone with Wings could have changed their mind.

I wonder if the Dallas trade for Nagy had any impact on this. Maybe they want to give McDonald more playtime for the scouts. With the trade talks heating up, there is only so much time to showcase players. Yeah, McDonald isn't worth much on the market, but he could always be included as a minor part in a package. Howard is much less likely to be traded, so showcasing him isn't as important.

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Guest Crymson

If I wanted to play Joey in one game this season, I'd play him against the Flyers, +/- masters of the world-- Peter Forsberg leads in that category with a plus-one rating.

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