Is Jimmy Howard Capable of A Long Playoff Run

[Hunting Bow*]

When it comes to the playoffs, Mrazek has to prove he can hack it consistently. A rookie goaltender in the playoffs against a team like Tampa (or worse, Montreal)? That could spell disaster if he hasn't completely won the starting job.

Essentially, Mrazek has to be lights out for the rest of the season and Howard has to remain inconsistent for him to get the nod.

Everyone ignores that Howard was handed the starting job and did start in the playoffs as a rookie and its blasphemy to think it could happen again now?

Short memories?

By the way I'd say Mrazek is light years ahead of where Howard was at this point. Just one mans opinion.

 

[Heaton]

Everyone ignores that Howard was handed the starting job and did start in the playoffs as a rookie and its blasphemy to think it could happen again now?

Short memories?

By the way I'd say Mrazek is light years ahead of where Howard was at this point. Just one mans opinion.

'Handed the starting job'? Huh? Osgood was terrible that year and Howard put up 37 wins and a .924 sv%. It's not even remotely the same thing.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Everyone ignores that Howard was handed the starting job and did start in the playoffs as a rookie and its blasphemy to think it could happen again now?

Short memories?

By the way I'd say Mrazek is light years ahead of where Howard was at this point. Just one mans opinion.

Is that why Osgood started more games to start the year then proceeded to be phased out because his play was faltering?

Or are we going to just revise history?

 

[jroc86]

Personally ... No. He is the better option at this point due to experience and consistency but IMO he's not an athlete that excels when the heat is on. Mrazek is still a work in progress but he has that "it" factor when it comes to rising to the occasion.

If one of our goalies gets hot and takes us a little further than we deserve to go its not going to be Howard.

 

[jkutswings]

The Wings have hitched their wagon to Jimmy Howard. Is he good enough to take the team to the cup?

http://lastwordonsports.com/2015/03/14/is-jimmy-howard-a-stanley-cup-caliber-goaltender/

When he plays his best, Howard is good enough to take A team to the Finals, perhaps to 16 wins.

The point, however, is moot, since he is not on A team, but THIS team, which is not currently good enough to achieve 16 wins with ANY goalie.

But to evaluate just how far Jimmy Howard can go with the 2014-5 Detroit Red Wings, I'd say deep 2nd round. If absolutely everything clicks on all cylinders for the entire roster, maybe a win or 2 in the Conference Finals, but that's (IMO) the hard ceiling.

 

[Hunting Bow*]

'Handed the starting job'? Huh? Osgood was terrible that year and Howard put up 37 wins and a .924 sv%. It's not even remotely the same thing.

So now wins matter?

 

[14ari13]

At this point I think Babcock should start Howard in game 1 playoffs, but he should also keep Mrazek ready to step in.
Howard might play better in the playoffs when the games get more intense. But Babcock has to prepare Mrazek too. Being a rookie with no pressure could be advantage.

 

[odin1981]

I think this situation was started because Howard was stupid. If you are a goalie and you hurt your groin you don't go back in unless its the playoffs. I'm not a Jimmie supporter by any means but he hasn't looked good since he got back outside of one of's every few games. He should not have rushed back and fully recovered then get back in the lineup.

Now on to the OP no he can't. We top out in the second round max. He doesn't have the D Osbad had to make him look steady enough and he will never be good enough to go Buffalo Hasek era to will his team to the cup round let alone win it.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

So now wins matter?

Howard won 37 games AND posted a .924 save percentage.

Did you hit the reply button before finishing his sentence?

 

[Frk It]

Jimmy "Hot Button" Howard

 

[Winger98]

At this point I think Babcock should start Howard in game 1 playoffs, but he should also keep Mrazek ready to step in.
Howard might play better in the playoffs when the games get more intense. But Babcock has to prepare Mrazek too. Being a rookie with no pressure could be advantage.

If we pull Howard from the playoffs for any reason other than injury, we should just trade him at the draft and move forward because he will not be happy here and would be a lightening rod for distraction.

And I think there would be plenty of pressure on Mrazek to show it was a good move to sit the vet and play the kid in the playoffs. It's the playoffs, there is a certain amount of pressure regardless.

 

[RedWingsForPresident]

Has anyone seen anything on if they're going to stick with Mrazek? I doubt it, but wasn't sure if there was anything out there

 

[DanZ]

The stat cherry picking against Howard is annoying. Stop picking and choosing stats to use against him while ignoring the whole picture.

 

[opivy]

When he plays his best, Howard is good enough to take A team to the Finals, perhaps to 16 wins.

The point, however, is moot, since he is not on A team, but THIS team, which is not currently good enough to achieve 16 wins with ANY goalie.

But to evaluate just how far Jimmy Howard can go with the 2014-5 Detroit Red Wings, I'd say deep 2nd round. If absolutely everything clicks on all cylinders for the entire roster, maybe a win or 2 in the Conference Finals, but that's (IMO) the hard ceiling.

I think that it completely depends on match ups and health. Look at the Kings squeaking in and everyone getting hot. It's just so hard to tell once the playoffs get going, a team could lose their top tender or star center in the first game and bow out Goalies get hot, goalies get cold.

Our special teams have both been league leading at times this season, we've had good goaltending and we have a deep scoring balance across a few lines. Honestly it sounds like a team that has a shot at making a run. Our real question mark is and has been our defensive core, but if you look at some advanced defensive statistics we're one of the top units in the league. (I think that has a lot to do with the forward core and the system) But heck, we had the #1 PP in the league and somehow upgraded it. Stranger things have happened and I think we also have some great talent in the black ace category that could step in and fill for injuries that many teams just don't have. We're well stocked for a deep run.

tl:dr - I don't see a "hard cap" on anything. Matchups and health dictate a lot and we have more depth than most.

 

[RedWingsfan55]

Can we win a cup with Howard? Yes no doubt about it.


Can we win with this team? No.


Team needs an upgrade. Even though Howard is in a slump right now he isn't the only one.

 

[14ari13]

If we pull Howard from the playoffs for any reason other than injury, we should just trade him at the draft and move forward because he will not be happy here and would be a lightening rod for distraction.

And I think there would be plenty of pressure on Mrazek to show it was a good move to sit the vet and play the kid in the playoffs. It's the playoffs, there is a certain amount of pressure regardless.

It depends how he plays. He is now a veteran goalie who maybe has no motivation to prove anything in the regular season, but he might bring it on and play great in the playoffs. Or he might just lose it and play like crap.
I would keep Mrazek ready.
Last season we won game 1 and then we lost 4. Babcock switched the goalies.
Didn't we have the same situation back in '97?

The stat cherry picking against Howard is annoying. Stop picking and choosing stats to use against him while ignoring the whole picture.

Read 3 times what you posted, then repeat it 10 times and do so the whole week. Then you will see the whole picture.

 

[Sheriff Bert]

The way I see it right now, is that Monster is completely out of the equation. When he's healthy, waive him. If he gets claimed, oh well and if not GR gets a good goalie for their playoff run. (Of course Kenny the Great would never consider this)

I have no doubt that Howard can bounce back come playoff time, just like last year. But he has to be 100%. No groin tweaks, no flu, no other random problems. I would not hesitate to start Mrazek at all to see how he fares if Howie cannot get the job done. Either goalie should do fine, it's just a matter of who will be the more consistent choice. Howard can't let in one good goal one day, then 6 bad the next and blame it on the defense. This playoff run will probably be a big clue to how many games he will start next year. He plays good, he is the undisputed starter. If he blows, he'll run a tandem with Mrazek next year.

 

[Frk It]

The way I see it right now, is that Monster is completely out of the equation. When he's healthy, waive him. If he gets claimed, oh well and if not GR gets a good goalie for their playoff run. (Of course Kenny the Great would never consider this)

I am pretty sure there is no roster limit at this point in the season, so waiving Gustavsson would be essentially pointless.

They will just hold onto him as the #3 guy in case of emergency. If they were going to do anything, they should have tried to trade him at the TDL for a mid-round pick. But they probably didn't want to risk not having an insurance policy, even though if 2 goalie's get hurt we are ****ed no matter what.

 

[DanZ]

Read 3 times what you posted, then repeat it 10 times and do so the whole week. Then you will see the whole picture.

I'm not having trouble seeing the whole picture unlike some of the short-sighted people on here. Thanks, though, for repeating my advice back to me.

 

[themcityblues]

I think Howard is ideal as trade bait, but since he hasn't been traded, you have to run with him. Yet to answer the original question, no, I don't think Howard can go deep. I feel having Howard on this team is a losing situation. I hope he plays bad, loses the bid to Mrazek who plays well, then we trade Jimmy in the off-season and he rebounds with some team that ISN'T Detroit. I think he can be a good goalie, but that he isn't a good fit in Detroit.

 

[14ari13]

When he plays his best, Howard is good enough to take A team to the Finals, perhaps to 16 wins.

The point, however, is moot, since he is not on A team, but THIS team, which is not currently good enough to achieve 16 wins with ANY goalie.

But to evaluate just how far Jimmy Howard can go with the 2014-5 Detroit Red Wings, I'd say deep 2nd round. If absolutely everything clicks on all cylinders for the entire roster, maybe a win or 2 in the Conference Finals, but that's (IMO) the hard ceiling.

What did Babcock, Cooper, Hitchcock say of this team?

 

[jkutswings]

What did Babcock, Cooper, Hitchcock say of this team?

I'm confused by what you mean. Was there a recent comment shared by those individuals on this matter? If so, could you elaborate?

And yet, not to be rude, but there's not really anything that a coach could say that I'd be interested in. Every year, we hear how "competitive" the team will be, and how they just have to "out-work their opponent" to win. Sorry, but the smart money is on golfing during the Conference Finals, not playing in them.

 

[Hunting Bow*]

I guess the real issue/question is? What choice do we have? They spent to keep him and now he's FORCED to be the #1 in Detroit.

Until he gets better or gets traded he's what we are stuck with. Pretty sure he has a NMC so he's not going anywhere.

 

[DanZ]

I'm confused by what you mean. Was there a recent comment shared by those individuals on this matter? If so, could you elaborate?

And yet, not to be rude, but there's not really anything that a coach could say that I'd be interested in. Every year, we hear how "competitive" the team will be, and how they just have to "out-work their opponent" to win. Sorry, but the smart money is on golfing during the Conference Finals, not playing in them.

Yeah, what coaches say to the media doesn't mean much. Often times they are indirectly sending a message to the players or playing mind games with opposing teams. What coach would say that their team doesn't have the ability to win the Cup?

 

[14ari13]

I'm confused by what you mean. Was there a recent comment shared by those individuals on this matter? If so, could you elaborate?

And yet, not to be rude, but there's not really anything that a coach could say that I'd be interested in. Every year, we hear how "competitive" the team will be, and how they just have to "out-work their opponent" to win. Sorry, but the smart money is on golfing during the Conference Finals, not playing in them.

Babcock, this is the best team since 09.
Hitchcock, the best team they have played in their barn.
Cooper, Wings Are the team to beat.