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roboturner

Babcock: Petr Mrazek is starting Game 1

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Huge news

Also confirmed from various sources on twitter. Straight out of babcock's mouth

Im sure his leash will be very short though. From what I've seen from Mraz in big games, I think we'll be okay!

I agree huge news but I have a feeling we will see Howard before the end of the series. Mrazek has been good but very inconsistant. Babs had no problems switching between them after a bad game in the regular season and will be even quicker to pull the trigger in the playoffs.

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Man, we talked about this but now that it's happened in real life, Babcock must have lost all faith in Howard. He's basically trying to replace him with a rookie.

Ferraro being in. Is a wasted roster spot though.

If I'm Howard I'd be very! upset

The playoffs aren't the time for testing rookies. Sadly I'm starting to wonder if Howard did rush back too early :(

Howard is a huge reason why this team has made the playoffs he deserve done reward even if his play dropped off after coming back

Edited by frankgrimes

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I love it!!! Give him a shot for sure and keep him on a short leash. Old beach ball crotch can get all pissy all he wants. He hasn't played good enough to warrant a playoff start. Babs is going with his best right now on the ice and that is Mrazek.

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Edited by hillbillywingsfan

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Wow. I thought for sure he would start Howie with a short leash. Interesting...

Same here. Times are changing faster than we thought it seems. I'm not sure if it is the right decision after Jimmy more or less picked up his game. However, good luck to Peter !

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If I'm Howard I'd be very! upset The playoffs aren't the time for testing rookies. Sadly I'm starting to wonder if Howard did rush back too early :( Howard is a huge reason why this team has made the playoffs he deserve done reward even if his play dropped off after coming back

I don't disagree with what you are saying about Howard being a "huge reason why this team has made the playoffs" but conversely with his play after the all star break he is also a huge part of the reason why this team almost missed the playoffs and it seems that goalies more than most players are hot or cold and Howie has been pretty cold for quite a while.

edit: grammar

Edited by Frozen-Man

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I love it!!! Give him a shot for sure and keep him on a short leash. Old beach ball crotch can get all pissy all he wants. He hasn't played good enough to warrant a playoff start. Babs is going with his best on the ice and that is Mrazek.

I'm fine with whoever plays, but frankly neither one performed well enough to deserve a playoff start.

The team backed their way into the playoffs and Mrazek backed his way into starting game 1. Hopefully the kid finds consistency in the postseason.

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This could turn into the 2004 Stanley cup playoffs when they decided to start Manny Legace in the first round over Curtis Joseph only to regret the decision and eventually had Cujo take over to win the 1st series (but then lost in second series).

But I'm trying to be optimistic since Mrazek isn't Manny Legace when it comes to puck handling.

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I'm fine with whoever plays, but frankly neither one performed well enough to deserve a playoff start.

The team backed their way into the playoffs and Mrazek backed his way into starting game 1. Hopefully the kid finds consistency in the postseason.

I don't know. Mraz just looked 100 times more comfortable out there and with his puck handling ability that does give us another D man on the back end. Howard touches the puck and you always think its going to get put into his own net like the Boston University Matt O'Connor did. Mraz just looks like he wants it more.

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This could turn into the 2004 Stanley cup playoffs when they decided to start Manny Legace in the first round over Curtis Joseph only to regret the decision and eventually had Cujo take over to win the 1st series (but then lost in second series).

But I'm trying to be optimistic since Mrazek isn't Manny Legace when it comes to puck handling.

Mrazek isn't Manny Legace in any way, shape, or form. Legace was a career backup who overachieved for a minute and got in over his head. Mrazek is a rookie with tons of upside who was supposed to be in the AHL right now. Mrazek has got all the makings of a strong starter. I don't know if this is the right decision, but this is nothing like the Legace situation. Legace was and is a joke; Mrazek is the real deal, though he may not be quite ready yet.

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This could turn into the 2004 Stanley cup playoffs when they decided to start Manny Legace in the first round over Curtis Joseph only to regret the decision and eventually had Cujo take over to win the 1st series (but then lost in second series).

But I'm trying to be optimistic since Mrazek isn't Manny Legace when it comes to puck handling.

We started Legace and then switched and we still won the series - I see very little regret or consequence to that decision. I'd be fine if we switch goalies mid series if it doesn't start out well. I wouldn't view that as making the wrong decision.

Neither goalie has inspired confidence recently, but Mrazek played a statement game with his shutout when all eye were on him. That's as close as either has come to stating that they deserve to play.

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Heres hoping its the Red Wings turn to have one of those goalies that emerges in the playoffs and steals the show like so many oposing goalies that got red hot when we had to play them over the years.
I think this kid can be that red hot kinda guy.

Here's the problem. Those teams that upset us in 2003, 2004 and 2006 didn't just do it with hot goaltending. They did it with tight checking, physical defense and hard work. They also limited their mistakes.

This team doesn't do any of those other things well, even if Mrazek plays amazing.

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I'll leave the analysis to everyone else - me I'm just glad to see a little accountability here. Nobody on this team should see their job as a given, not matter what their age or salary. Way overdue.

That's a crock. Cleary and Samuelsson took roster spots away from more deserving players for years.

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Both goalies have issues, but IMO the tiebreaker is Mrazek's ability to handle the puck.

Interesting. For me the tiebreaker is Jimmys experience. Puckhandling is a nice bonus, but Jimmy already proofed that he is a more than solid starter at NHL-Level. Mrazek still hast to prove that and I don't know if the playoffs with all the pressure are the best environment to do that.

Edited by derblaueClaus

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I don't know. Mraz just looked 100 times more comfortable out there and with his puck handling ability that does give us another D man on the back end. Howard touches the puck and you always think its going to get put into his own net like the Boston University Matt O'Connor did. Mraz just looks like he wants it more.

His puck handling I'll give you, but I disagree on the 100 times more comfortable. And I don't know how you can tell who wants it more. No matter how Jimmy is playing, one thing is for sure is that he's a fiery competitor. I'm guessing he wanted to hang onto his starting job pretty badly.

I know Mrazek plays an aggressive style but there were games he was so overly aggressive he was taking himself way out of position. And Mrazek has yet to put together a string of good performances. Jimmy started turning his game around, had some good games and made huge saves, but then let in those brutally soft goals.

Neither one won the starting position. It's basically a gamble of who will hopefully screw up less, or get it together in the postseason in a way they didn't manage to during the regular season.

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