Jimmy Howard vs Petr Mrazek (The Long Off-Season Begins)

[Huddy*]

Can it be said for Jimmy? I don't think he's been pulled as many times as Mrazek. Either way "who cares" is a hilarious opinion. Mrazek's SOs were all him but every time he got pulled it was the team's fault, right?

Kinda shoots your theory in the foot though. Mrazek has let in several brutal goals that have nothing to do with team D.

Ill chalk up those "softies" he let in as a learning experience. Howard, no excuses.

Yes. Mrazek was stellar and stole those games from teams. Our D is flawed, it shows. When Mrazek has been pulled, it has been a combo of softies and TERRIBLE TERRIBLE D, but more bad D than softies, which is something majority on this board has been complaining about all year.

 

[SoupNazi]

Ill chalk up those "softies" he let in as a learning experience. Howard, no excuses.

Yes. Mrazek was stellar and stole those games from teams. Our D is flawed, it shows. When Mrazek has been pulled, I have seen the softies, but also have seen TERRIBLE TERRIBLE D in front of him as well.

Have you noticed that same "TERRIBLE TERRIBLE D" in front of Howard?

 

[DanZ]

Ill chalk up those "softies" he let in as a learning experience. Howard, no excuses.

Yes. Mrazek was stellar and stole those games from teams. Our D is flawed, it shows. When Mrazek has been pulled, it has been a combo of softies and TERRIBLE TERRIBLE D, but more bad D than softies. Howard lets in worse goals than Mrazek.

Obviously Mrazek is a bit raw. No one is denying that.


He absolutely did not steal the game against Tampa for starters. The Wings played very well and Mrazek didn't have much work. Try and be more objective here. Mrazek has let in goals easily as bad as Howard's worst. Sure, Howard potentially cost us a point against the Canadiens with a terrible goal. Mrazek potentially cost us two points against Boston with an even worse goal. They've both had terrible moments. You can say Mrazek has been better than Howard but also has still been brutal at times. You don't need to pretend like Mrazek can do no wrong and everything that happened to Howard was his fault though. That's plain wrong.

 

[Dynheart]

I look at it this way. Both have been streaky. One is a rookie, one is a vet. One gets a pass, one has no excuse.

I also look at this way as well:

If both were to catch fire? I would rather have Mrazek in net, as he in his raw form is better than Howard now...when both are playing at their current peaks. I only think Mrazek will get better in the next 4 years when hit hits his beginning years of his prime.

Basically Mrazek is still playing inconsistently, but gets a pass IMO. But when he's on? He's better than Howard at Howard's absolute best. I still believe Mrazek is the best chance to go for a deep run. You need a goalie that can steal games with this team. Not a goalie that can just keep you in it. No slight to Howard, as I believe he's a solid goalie. The team in front of the goalies is the main issue. It's just than Mrazek can flourish, IMO, in this type of environment (average teams) better than Howard can. AKA steal games...possibly steal series, and possibly a Cup later in his future.

 

[Flowah]

It was a coin toss based on the last 2 games, one from Howie and one from Mrazek.

It is still a coin toss. I bet you anything if Mrazek has a meh showing we would quickly see Howard the next game. Neither of them have played themselves into a place where the coach is confident in them. They are not Hasek, and even Hasek was replaced in 2008.

 

[rx7dryver]

No matter how it all plays out Babcock is going to take grief over this decision and he would take a lot of grief if he had started with Howard.

I fully expect for Howard to be in goal when the series is lost.

 

[Shoalzie]

It's the classic "if you have two starters, then you really have none". I can't imagine Babs is married to one over the other. Howard will start if they're down 0-2 or if Mrazek throws up on himself in Game 1.

You play Howard and he fails...everyone cries about when are they going to give Mrazek the chance? Howard hasn't gotten them past the second round and the calls for replacing him will only get louder.

You play Mrazek and he fails...everyone cries that Mrazek isn't experienced enough to handle this and they should've stuck with the veteran.

I'm at least intrigued by the fact Mrazek has extensive AHL playoff experience and knows what it takes to go through 4 rounds of a playoff. Whenever he was going to take this starting job over...he was going to have that experience in his back pocket.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Howard's veteran status is somewhat overplayed, it's not like the guy has won a Cup or really been outstanding in the playoffs. If there was a history of Howard playing flawlessly in the playoffs then I bet he'd be in goal regardless of what happened in the last months of the regular season.

But as things stand the only difference between Mrazek and Howard as far as the playoffs are concerned is that we *know* Howard is a mixed bag in the playoffs whereas Mrazek is the great unknown.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

I suspect Babcock talked about this with datsyuk, Zetts and Kronwall as he loves these three vets and so I suspect they agreed or supported this move

 

[TatarTangle]

Howard's veteran status is somewhat overplayed, it's not like the guy has won a Cup or really been outstanding in the playoffs. If there was a history of Howard playing flawlessly in the playoffs then I bet he'd be in goal regardless of what happened in the last months of the regular season.

But as things stand the only difference between Mrazek and Howard as far as the playoffs are concerned is that we *know* Howard is a mixed bag in the playoffs whereas Mrazek is the great unknown.

He's had two years where he posted above a .920 save percentage, one year he posted a .915 save percentage, had a stinker year at .888 and last year he posted a .931 save percentage. That's a pretty good mixed bag.

He has yet to win a series he shouldn't have though.

 

[Sadekuuro]

But when he's on? He's better than Howard at Howard's absolute best.

Based on what?

 

[SpookyTsuki]

It was a coin toss based on the last 2 games, one from Howie and one from Mrazek.

It is still a coin toss. I bet you anything if Mrazek has a meh showing we would quickly see Howard the next game. Neither of them have played themselves into a place where the coach is confident in them. They are not Hasek, and even Hasek was replaced in 2008.

If a meh game is a win, He gets the next game.. Babs isnt starting Howie again unless Mrazek plays bad or loses in an convincing way

 

[iDangleDangle]

This situation of a slumping starter and a talented rookie goalie with no experience and an uneven stats on his starts this season is not ideal, but one thing is pretty interesting: if nothing else, we have a perfect chance to witness a true cinderella story here.

Mrazek's play has been plagued by uneven performances on a game-to-game basis, but his playoff pedigree on every level he has played is fantastic. And one thing we know for sure is that he is mentally really strong. If he manages to have a lights-out performance early on followed by couple of other solid showings he might get into a flow mode, which with this talent level means that the sky is limit. Just think about Hammond's miraculous play/record with the Sens this season - and he was a 27-year old career AHL goalie before his stretch.

 

[Invictus12]

To be honest, I feel Mrazek was a bit luckier in the starts he was getting as oppose to Howard. We tended to put him in whenever Babs reached the last straw with the team. He would shake the entire lineup up and down and Mrazek tended to be one of those shakes...

I'd personally go with Howard to start but, it's not the end of the world if Mrazek gets a go. If he plays well, roll with him. He falters, put in Howard. No biggie really.

Just please, stop following opposing players behind the net. That's a really bad habit he has.

 

[waltdetroit]

Mrazek had a great 2013 Calder run but he had a couple of bad games in the 2014 run. The D wasn't as good that year either

edit I should say Petr was able to bounce back after the bad games. He is able to start fresh at each new game

 

[Bench]

Good for Mrazek! This is exciting. He has a chance to prove himself at the biggest stage.

 

[Hugh Mongusbig]

Time to grab that cheddar Petr!

 

[Dotter]

Any confirmation who is starting? I figured there would be an exclusive thread on this...

 

[SoupNazi]

Any confirmation who is starting? I figured there would be an exclusive thread on this...

It's well discussed in the series thread that Mrazek is starting.

 

[CKJohn]

I can honestly say this was a bit of a suprise to me. I did not think that Babcock would go with Mrazek for the playoffs. Babcock has a bit of a history going to veterans over rookies. Perhaps he's just had a change of heart seeing as he thankfully sat Cleary almost all year.

Bottom line is this. Howard is a good goalie. His playoff performances have been good, but not stellar. His GAA and Save % in the playoffs are very good, but he does seem to crack a bit under high pressure.

You also have Mrazek who is a rookie with no playoff experience. He does have a Calder cup to his name so he does know what it takes to go through 4 rounds, although he went though it at a lower level of hockey.

What I think this comes down to is giving this team a lift. Howard has not played well enough since his injury which gives a perfect opportunity for Mrazek to grab the reins. I also think Babcock is putting him in there to shake the team up and hopes for an upstart rookie that can steal a game/series.

This is it right here. If Mrazek plays well and steals a series, its over for Howard here in Detroit as the starter.

Either way, who has the popcorn? I want to see this drama unfold.

 

[14ari13]

Howard is better than Mrazek. How is this even up for debate?

Mrazek might end up being better, but currently he isn't.

Ask Babcock.

Yep and some posters a re losing credibility quick by saying other wise. Wins are not how you evaluate a goaltender. I guess Luongo and Osgood are better goalies than Hasek, they have more wins so it must be true

What happened to credibility?

i can only imagine how... eh, interesting and enjoyable this thread will be when there is actual debate and legit argument that mrazek is better than howard or even as good.

Babcock seems determined to go with Mrazek.

Some people have the opinion that the Earth is flat. As long as people are blaming Howard for that habs loss, no reasonable discussion can be had.

Has someone ironed out the earth?

Nope. Wins and stick handling are the only true measurements of how talented a goaltender is. /s

Howard is the starter. He hasn't done anything to lose the spot and Mrazek hasn't done anything to win the spot. So I'm taking the guy that has history of doing well in the playoffs. But it's nice to know that there is a capable back-up in case Howard really falters. People can argue until their face is blue but they'd just be wasting their time.

Hey, goalie expert can you enlight us a bit more about the details?


PS. Mod, this is just friendly joking, no harm meant.

 

[Bench]

PS. Mod, this is just friendly joking, no harm meant.

No joking allowed. You guys know how serious I am.

In goalie news, Howard says on Babcock's choice, "it's his decision." Apparently him and Babcock haven't spoken yet.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...d-on-babcock-he-makes-the-decisions/25772979/

 

[Sami]

Maybe we should trade Howard for defenceman.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Maybe we should trade Howard for defenceman.

Maybe Howard has a NMC clause.

 

[Sami]

Maybe Howard has a NMC clause.

Damn and blast!