Jimmy Howard

[vladdy16 2,154]

We now return to our regularly scheduled discussion of Howard, not Ozzie.

[puckloo39 5,686]

having had little chance to see Howard in action, I thought he did very well last night. The Preds didn't have a lot of chances on him, a lot of shots missed or were blocked and sent over the top of the net, etc... but he made some good saves when needed.

That's about all you can ask, when the D is struggling. I hope we get to see Jimmy again this season. How about Friday?

[OsGOD 3]

Our defense and offense have been s*** since the All-star break and goalies have been struggling as a result...

that pretty much sums it up. No need to single out a specific position.

first goal: 1 on 0

second goal: 2 on 0

third goal: 1 on 0

And none of them were break a ways... we are talking straight up out top defensemen MISSING their matchups.

Where is the D?

Howard looked pretty good, i was impressed

Edited February 13, 2008 by OsGOD

[interminded 1]

having had little chance to see Howard in action, I thought he did very well last night. The Preds didn't have a lot of chances on him, a lot of shots missed or were blocked and sent over the top of the net, etc... but he made some good saves when needed.

That's about all you can ask, when the D is struggling. I hope we get to see Jimmy again this season. How about Friday?

Nope.

Babcock said he'll start Ozzie again on Friday.

let's not shatter the man's confidence entirely by starting Jimmy H.

[redwings56 1]

Our defense and offense have been s*** since the All-star break and goalies have been struggling as a result...

that pretty much sums it up. No need to single out a specific position.

first goal: 1 on 0

second goal: 2 on 0

third goal: 1 on 0

And none of them were break a ways... we are talking straight up out top defensemen MISSING their matchups.

Where is the D?

Howard looked pretty good, i was impressed

Don't forget the 4th goal was the 'God' Lidstrom getting caught and allowing Radulov on a breakaway.

so it should also read

4th Goal : 1 - 0

The Wings played well after the 3-0 deficit, kind of the way they have been in the last 2-3 games, when they get behind they play well but can't climb out of it, or run into a hot goalie. Sammy had an alright game. it is just I wonder to my self how is he in the league? When he is skating hard he is effective, but when he jukes and swivles at the Blue line he is useless.

[toby91_ca 620]

With respect to Osgood, there is no question that he appears to be struggling:

First 23 games - only 3 losses and only 2 games with sv % under .900 (lowest being .875)

Last 8 games - 5 losses, 5 games with sv % under .900 (combined in those 5 games = .785)

However, I think the team as a whole has more to do with it. I honestly believe that goalies playing in Detroit tend to have their statistics inflated a little due to the team (check the history, pretty much ever Detroit goalie over the past 15-20 years has pretty good stats). At the same time, when the team is struggling, the goalie's stats will struggle as well (well, this is pretty much true for any team and any goalie, so it really isn't saying much).

My bigger picture point, the team is making mistakes, which is leading to bad games for Ozzie. Theorectically, he shoudl be bailing the team out on those situations, but you can't always expect that. When the team makes very few mistakes, his stats will be excellent, when some mistakes are made, he will be exposed a little bit.

[OsGOD 3]

Don't forget the 4th goal was the 'God' Lidstrom getting caught and allowing Radulov on a breakaway.

so it should also read

4th Goal : 1 - 0

The Wings played well after the 3-0 deficit, kind of the way they have been in the last 2-3 games, when they get behind they play well but can't climb out of it, or run into a hot goalie. Sammy had an alright game. it is just I wonder to my self how is he in the league? When he is skating hard he is effective, but when he jukes and swivles at the Blue line he is useless.

Ah yes, i wasn't sure if should inlude that one because it was a breakaway from about the top of the circles if i remember right. The reason i omitted it was because those happen in games sometimes, but i was floored that the first three were allowed while the team was set up in our zone and caught the D sleeping or sucking or whatever you want to call it...

but, yes, you are correct all for were "on O's" if you will.

[Guest LivingtheDream]

i thought he played great, especially his quickness side to side and how fast he got up after shots

I noticed that too - the guy is fast. Youth in a goalie is a great thing we have not seen for some time!

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

Howard looks like a goalie who only lacks one more thing, NHL experience. He is ready to make the jump up to the NHL. Look forward to seeing him do that next season.

[Opie 308]

One of the major reasons Howard was so successful and highly touted in College was his speed from post to post. His glove, while not the fastest, is pretty quick as well. He is a bigger goalie (not huge) and one of his knocks was that he appears to become smaller in net. He has a ton of patients as well.

From what I read on this post (I wasn't able to watch last night either) it seems like he was a little nervous. He is not usually a deep netminder, while he is quick he still usually plays near the top of his crease. (unlike the new UMaine goalie who plays beyond his crease and gets a s*** ton of back door goals scored on him).

Heres hoping next year he gets a good chunk of game time behind Ozzie and then can take over the year after with Ozzie backing him up.

And heres to hoping livingthedream never changes that avatar!!!

just kidding! but seriously wow!

[CenterIce 83]

Probably because Draper is already wearing 33.

And, he wore 33 at Maine.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I was surprised that this thread on Howard was such a hot topic.

Now I see that it's still not about him.

Goalie bashing has now become one level removed, because it's now about which goalie does or doesn't get bashed, who gets bashed more and how unfair it is.

Good god it's even more childish than the actual goalie bashing.

Is it fair that Dom gets ripped on by Wings fans for plays like sliding out on Gaborik?

Is it fair that Ozzy won the Cup as a starting goaltender, just like Dom, but people give him little credit for it and even say they won in spite of him?

Is it fair some people will ***** about Dom's unorthodox flopping, even though he's done it successfully for 15 seasons, won countless Vezinas and a Hart?

The answer to all of the above is no, of course.

The only way to avoid that is to come in, win a Cup for Detroit, then retire like Vernon. Dom had a shot at it, but made the mistake of coming back here. Legace should've known better and remained a backup because he was probably the most beloved Wings goalie of all time, until he became the starter.

Detroit fans treat all goalies like sh*t. Period. They will generally receive too much of the blame, and too little of the credit.

Next up to the whipping post, Jimmy Howard. Brace yourself kid.

[puckloo39 5,686]

harold, the voice of reason. Like I said earlier, I hope Howard is taking notes. That way, he will know exactly what he's in for here.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

I suppose I didn't help keep this thread from derailing but to help put it back on the right direction, I was quite pleased with Jimmy's play last night. I thought he looked calm and collective the entire time and moved laterally with ease.

Thank god he doesn't suck like Dom or Ozzie!

Edited February 13, 2008 by Never Forget Mac #25

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I suppose I didn't help keep this thread from derailing but to help put it back on the right direction, I was quite pleased with Jimmy's play last night. I thought he looked calm and collected the entire time and move laterally with ease.

Thank god he doesn't suck like Dom or Ozzie!

we should get to work now on some clever variation of his name like Osbad, Hasuck, Joseive.

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

I suppose I didn't help keep this thread from derailing but to help put it back on the right direction, I was quite pleased with Jimmy's play last night. I thought he looked calm and collected the entire time and move laterally with ease.

Thank god he doesn't suck like Dom or Ozzie!

I am pretty hopeful for Howard. I think I'm gonna start a third goalie gang. Since Jimmy won't play much, we can rip on Ozzie and Dom and always be right!

Howard was very solid when called upon last night. I hope he gets more time, maybe even the start Friday. Then again, after last night, Ozzie probably can't wait to get back out there.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

we should get to work now on some clever variation of his name like Osbad, Hasuck, Joseive.

I've got to admit- Joseive is pretty clever.

[Guest Crymson]

What did you guys think of him?

I kinda wished he utilizes his size more to look big and maybe little less dramatic but overall I think he did everything we could ask him for tonight.

I think if he can hone his craft little more and get little more confidence in NHL level, he might be a real solid goalie for us in future.

He didn't look half bad, and he made 18 saves on 19 shots. His lack of confidence was obvious, just as MacDonald's was last season, but Howard is far better than MacDonald. Once he builds in confidence and experience, I have faith that he'll be solid. He's on his way up.