redwings56 1 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Has he been steady? Yes He is consistant, not only looking at goals against (1 goal against every game). I am not at all saying that he is the second coming of Patrick Roy like Habs fans are dubbing Price. And I do not want Howard to take us to the Promise Land. But this last week is reasurring Holland and Red Wings exec. that they do not need to sign a big name goalie in the off season. Howard is hopefully ready for next year 100%. I hope Hasek is back soon because Osgood is not the answer for the playoffs, no matter how much people love him. (he was great at the beginning when Dom went down for a few games 22-3-2 I think) But the team just isn't playing well in front of him lately. Really though I noticed early in the season when Ozzie was in they allowed a lot more shots than when Dom was in. Anyone else notice that? And Ozzie made at least 3 huge saves a game. Now those huge saves are goals. We can't blame Ozzie and Howard is not the answer for this years playoffs, but he is a nice change and I like how well he is playing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aki 0 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 I thought Howard was awesome today, if it weren't for him, I'm sure we would have lost 4-0 instead of 1-0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 I'd be more comfortable with Howard starting off in a backup goaltending position, rather than jumping right into the number one spot Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 People here were all over Osgood's jock strap for a majority of the year. Either Hasek or Osgood is a good choice to be the starting goaltender for the playoffs. I don't understand why people keep trying to fight this. They both work well together, they get along, they have shown this season in large spurts to be around the top of their games. I will keep saying this over and over again until people want to snap my neck in half. HASEK + OSGOOD = A SOLID GOALTENDING COMBINATION. That being said, Howard has been very solid in relief and today. He has to wait his turn until Hasek retires and with Osgood still playing a large role in Detroit over the next few years signing a contract extention, but his time being in Detroit permanently is slowly coming I think. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaKineMaui 8 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 I'd be more comfortable with Howard starting off in a backup goaltending position, rather than jumping right into the number one spot Why? Why not a starting spot? It was 1-0 against a good team. Explain further. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim3033 1 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Howard played a solid game. The D blocked a lot of shots and helped him out where they didn't with Ozzie. But he made some good saves. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Superman54 91 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Howard had a super game today and Im really looking forward tp the future with him Hopefully next year! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elshupacabra 0 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) Until recently, based on what I had seen of Howard in GR and his brief stints in the NHL, I didn't think that he had what it took to make it in the NHL. I was impressed with the way he filled in for Osgood the past couple games, but I reserved judgment until I saw him actually start a game. I'm still impressed. Not only did Howard make some nice saves and looked steady for the most part, But the team seemed to play a little better in front of him, still not as good as they should be playing, but still...better. I think that Howard will make a decent backup for the next couple years. Hopefully he'll be ready for a starting position by then. Edited February 18, 2008 by Elshupacabra Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haroldsnepsts 4,826 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Why? Why not a starting spot? It was 1-0 against a good team. Explain further. Because it was one game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yemack 1 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Hes looking better and better every game. he performance was pretty solid today IMO He looked alot bigger tonight and look confident. but Osgood is way more refined and he just knows so much more about how to go about doing things in NHL. Howard is good but he needs more experience and adjust to NHL speed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ben_usmc 253 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 very impressive one game, but yeah start backing and then maybe do a lot of rotation Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nero 20 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Did you guys see the preseason? He was great then too. Yeah yeah, they don't matter, I know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yzerfan1999 81 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 I dont know if I would give him the number 1 role next year - you never want to break a goalie to early - M A Fleury... I would see if he can handle split duties with Osgood. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinbin 3 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 He'll be here next year with the Oz! Dom's hips are too worn! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Why? Why not a starting spot? It was 1-0 against a good team. Explain further. Because as someone else has already said, it was only one game, and I believe his career record with the wings only has one win. In addition, he's been playing in low pressure situations, acting as a relief when were already down by three goals, and coming in as the starter only when we're already amidst the longest loosing streak in a decade. He definitely played well tonight, but why risk destroying something good in Jimmy by putting him in number 1 too soon, when you can play it safe and have a perfectly solid, proven (although many will argue this as of late) goalie to take the helm, or at the very least, split the season with Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shannyfan1414 0 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 I thought that he played very well today. Only allowed one on thirty one. Pretty nice game game for him. It's a shame that he didn't get any help from the rest of the team. I think that he has made some big steps since last season. I think that he still needs a little bit of time before he is really ready to become the number one guy here on the big club. Seems like he should be ready in the near future for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CaliWingsNut Report post Posted February 18, 2008 I thought that he played very well today. Only allowed one on thirty one. Pretty nice game game for him. It's a shame that he didn't get any help from the rest of the team. I think that he has made some big steps since last season. I think that he still needs a little bit of time before he is really ready to become the number one guy here on the big club. Seems like he should be ready in the near future for that. Linds helped him out on more than one occasion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
al48 1 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) I dont know if I would give him the number 1 role next year - you never want to break a goalie to early - M A Fleury... I would see if he can handle split duties with Osgood. Any comparison to Fleury is null. Jimmy's almost 24 guys. Fleury was thrown in when he was 19. Jimmy's not a friggen kid anymore, and needs to stop being looked at as one despite the baby face. He's only a month younger than Cam Ward. Edited February 18, 2008 by al48 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Louisville 112 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Because it was one game. Simple enough, but a concept lost on the minds of the weak. Or just someone who is an idiot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cirov19 1 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 Regular Season Stats (for Howard obviously) Season GPI Min W L OT GA SA SO GAA Sv% 2007-2008 3 137 0 1 0 3 60 0 1.31 .950 Three goals on sixty shots? Come on, that's gotta count for something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
irishtemper14+25 11 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 howard played stellar tonight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 howard played stellar tonight Yep! 0 shots faced, 0 saved! 1.000 save percentage! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeftWinger 4,914 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 ...has played good, he is for sure or future goaler. Won't help us in the playoffs this year though. We're doomed... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wings_fanatic 677 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 First of all, I was very impressed... second of all, where the hell do you get we are doomed? You are acting like Dominik is done for the rest of the season... he will be back FRIDAY people... its not that bad of an injury either... in fact Holland said that if this was the playoffs rite now... Dom would be playing!... so quit worrying... wings will get their stuff together, win tomrorw, and be back to normal by Friday... sheesh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
06TJSport 0 Report post Posted February 18, 2008 If he wants to play in the NHL he needs to work on rebound control. If he did that, he wouldn't have allowed that one goal today. It was the direct result of him not controlling two rebounds in a row and that wasn't the only instance of that today. I guess everyone missed that about his game.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites