Jimmy Howard

[Echolalia 2,961]

Everyone ups their game in the postseason. Howard is learning that he is going to need to up his game, too, if he wants to survive.

[gcom007 1,465]

Wait, wait. Howard is supposed to stop a one on one by himself?

It's not like the defense is supposed to play well enough that there should be no one on zeros or anything, right?

It's not just Howard's fault when the defense doesn't give him any help. If he has rebound control, the defense should be ready to sweep pucks out of the slot.

And heaven forbid a simple, easy wrist shot that goes right into a goalies glove stay in a goalies glove less than 30 seconds in to a game as opposed to becoming a big rebound leading to another shot that leads to yet another rebound that leads to the goalie getting out of position, missing the guys coming in on the wraparound and allowing a goal, again, less than 30 seconds into a game...

"The team plays better in front of Howard."

I'm not throwing the kids career under the bus, but I've always been one to call a spade a spade. Howard's given this team anything but a rock to build on. The first was his best game, but not a good game, the second game was worse, this game was awful. So to go on with analogies, Howard's giving the team "sinking sand" you might say to build their playoff "house" on.

I mean, it was fair for everyone to say that Howard's strong play made the team play better in the regular season...

I just don't see how his weak post-season play wouldn't insinuate some sort of correlation with the teams weak post-season play. That is if we're not biased, utterly-subjective fans...

Again, I'm not a Howard hater. I like the kid a lot, and I don't blame him for this mess. Babcock f***ed up in my mind, and I've been saying it (and pretty much calling this...) since November. I'm not out to pick on anyone, especially Howard, who again, I REALLY LIKE AND SUPPORT.

But he's a damn rookie, and rookie's usually don't have what it takes to be great playoff goalies. It takes experience more often than not to be a great playoff goalie. The one thing rookies by definition don't have much of is EXPERIENCE.

What's sad is, many will probably call me a Howard-hater now, but if he blows this series, when the masses of sheep start hating him over the course of this off-season into next season and declaring that we're screwed in goal, I'll likely be one of the few people defending him...

((Then again, some crazy people with small animal brains (I'm sorry, I love you all, tough love...) still try to defend Legace too, so maybe (and almost hopefully in this case as I really think Jimmy's a good kid with a lot of potential) I'll be wrong on that...))

(Legace was and is a s***ty-ass goaltender. Jimmy Howard has a lot of potential to not be a s***ty-ass goaltender.)

Again, can't say it enough, I really like Jimmy Howard, and I feel bad for him. I hope people don't hold this series against him as time goes on but instead, keep it all in perspective and remember that he's a rookie. I want to see them go to Osgood if he s***s the bed again in game 4, but I want to remind everyone, despite Osgood winning us 2 Cups on his own and carrying a battered team to game 7 of the Finals last year, Osgood had to pay his dues on the bench too in his early years in the NHL. It's what made him the strong, big-game goalie he is today. I don't give a s*** about the last couple regular seasons. I can't explain it objectively, and I don't like thinking about it. All I know is that the guy knows how to turn it on in the playoffs, and he has for a long time. If Howard can't do it in game 4, let him learn firsthand from watching Osgood do what he does, so in time we might have another guy who may s*** the bed in the regular season, but kick ass in the playoffs when it really counts.

I'm sorry, but the opposite doesn't mean s***, and Jimmy Howard and Chris Osgood will tell you that. If you can't win in the playoffs, regular season records and stats don't mean s*** (Manny Legace will likely be too ******* insane to admit it).

I'll be rooting for Howard who will most-likely be starting game 4, but if he f***s up, I hope to be rooting for Osgood down the stretch.

But I'll still be rooting for Howard next season.

[RedWings 79]

On the 4th goal tonight, he is way out of his crease for NO REASON... there are plenty of players to cover the left side of the net, he just have to be on the right side covering his right post... Instead of that he goes 3 meters away of his net and let his right side wide open

It does not look much like a bad goal, but it is actually one... this was a birthday gift to Vrbata

Same story with game 1

At this point I'd rather have Osgood.

[KrazyGangsta 79]

*Updated, just realized that Howard is ranked before last in all goaltenders in the playoffs in which the last place is occupied by Theodore.

I know all the blame can't be put on him but some goals need to be stopped that are actually possible to save.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

and put Lebda in for Ericsson at least he can skate both directions

Ericsson still hasn't been on the ice for a 5-on-5 goal against. Find another d-man to blame.

[titanium2 867]

In the face of pressure: Wings' Jimmy Howard ready to rebound

BOB WOJNOWSKI

Jimmy Howard always knew this was coming. The truth is, he has been waiting for it a long time, waiting for his chance, even waiting for the tough moments.

He was prepared for it, and that's one important step in preparing for what's next -- the biggest, ultra-tense test of his young career.

The Wings are in a tussle with the Coyotes, down 2-1 with a must-must-must-win Game 4 tonight. It'd be ridiculous to pin the bulk of their struggles on the goalie. Howard has allowed some soft, untimely goals, no doubt, but the Wings have been outskated and outhustled at times. If you want a concern that absolutely must be fixed, that's it.

But there's an experience gap here and it's up to Howard to show he can close it, to show he can be better when the lights get hotter. The Wings have risen out of danger many times before, and the strong inclination is to say they'll do it again, starting right now.

Howard is a 26-year-old rookie in his first NHL playoff series and he hasn't done it yet, so the inclination is to question whether he can. I think he'll rebound fine, although the Wings' defense needs to do a better job taking the pressure off him.

Wait a minute. Take the focus off the goalie in Detroit? Ha, ha. Good one. Even Howard got a chuckle out of that Monday.

"Well, it's the old love-hate relationship with goalies here, right?" he said, then laughed, and I think that's a good sign. "Whatever. It's a lot of fun out there. I just need to get refocused and go out and battle."

Calming influence

I wouldn't say Howard offered a no-worries shrug after his shaky outing in a 4-2 loss Sunday. But he has a calm, soft-spoken demeanor that doesn't change, a function of playing on such a veteran team, with such an experienced goalie at his side in Chris Osgood.

Howard is sitting exactly where Osgood sat 16 years ago, when he started his first playoffs against upstart San Jose. The message from Osgood, 37, and other teammates is simple: Let it go.

Howard swore he did just that, forgetting about Phoenix's final goal in Game 3, a quick shot by Radim Vrbata that beat him on the short side. It came less than two minutes after the Wings had climbed back to 3-2, and there's no getting around how deflating it was.

"You can't dwell on the negatives, because if you do, that's when thoughts start to creep into your mind and the floor comes out from underneath you," Howard said. "The next thing you know, you're in shambles. So you gotta remain positive. Ozzie keeps telling me just to move on, things will be fine."

Osgood would know. It is kind of weird he's the savvy, older buddy now, after playing in the last two Stanley Cup Finals. But Howard was so good this season, and the Wings were in such a scrap to make the playoffs, Osgood never got a shot. He played only twice in the final 29 games, and although he says he's ready if called upon, it's not even an issue right now.

It's not an issue for anyone in the Wings dressing room, although no one denies Howard's immediate response is huge.

"With goalies, it's not about the pucks that went in, it's about the next one," Mike Babcock said. "Howie's been great at that, and now you gotta respond. We're real comfortable that he's going to."

Clear out the head

Howard has allowed 11 goals in three games, and while they weren't all his fault, that's too many. Shortly after Sunday's game was over, Osgood was telling Howard to get his gear off, clear his head and don't obsess about it.

"I didn't say much to him, I just kind of moved the focus somewhere else," Osgood said. "That's the biggest thing I learned from Dominik Hasek -- he didn't barely think about hockey when he wasn't in net. I'm trying to teach Howie that. I really don't think he was that bad (Sunday), but it's hard to let things go. He's already got the mental makeup, now he's got to use those tools to shut it out of his mind."

Really, if anyone's looking for Howard to swipe this series from the hard-skating Coyotes, that's unfair. The Wings' top two lines, led by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, need to be as good as they were in the 7-4 victory in Game 2. The Wings need to be less sloppy and battle much harder.

Howard is a big chunk of the focus because, well, he's the goalie in Detroit, and he has never gone through it. It's no time to get nervous, not that he often does.

"Nah, it was quite the opposite," Howard said. "Down in Phoenix, I felt really at ease, and I felt pretty good (Sunday). We're gonna have to answer the call now. There's no reason I can't do it."

No reason at all. He's been waiting for this since the Wings drafted him in the second round in 2003, and his readiness is about to be tested like never before. As any good goalie knows, it's all about handling the rebound.

http://detnews.com/article/20100420/OPINION03/4200321/1128/SPORTS0103/In-the-face-of-pressure--Wings--Jimmy-Howard-ready-to-rebound

Forget about it and move on. Pretty good advice.

[Guest scottj]

howie seems like he has his head on pretty straight... at the very least i want us to win this first round solely for giving howie some confidence. f***, i just hope he starts playin good enough so even if we do get kicked out first round (which i doubt will happen), he won't blame himself for it completely and blame the lazy f***s in front of him.

i still have faith in these guys though... i'm talkin worst case scenario

[Guest Four]

SHUTOUTTTTTTT

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

What a statement game by Jimmy. Could be the turnaround in the series.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

What a statement game by Jimmy. Could be the turnaround in the series.

The great thing about Jimmy is his consistency. We rarely saw him go bad-good-bad-good-bad-good... Hopefully he can consistently play like he did tonight for 14 more playoff victories this season...

[MulesWillFly93 199]

Aughh, what's that blinding light?!?! Oh wait, I know! Must be the STFU switch getting turned on!

Keep it up, Jimmah. You've got the powah! (lol, jeez, where did that come from?)

[titanium2 867]

Awesome sound bite from Jimmy that fans love to hear:

"Yandle has a cannon. I was thinking I'd probably take this one right off the teeth if I had to."

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2010/04/jimmy_howard_and_red_wings_shu.html

Way to go Jimmy!! Keep it up!

[RedWingsRox 614]

Impressive game for any goalie to get a shutout in a playoff game but for a rookie ... kudos.

[KrazyGangsta 79]

*Updated the kids stats, great that he got a SO yesterday, when Jimmy gets hot he goes on a streak.

[titanium2 867]