The Detroit Red Wings have been the NHL's best team over the last 20 years. During that span, though, their goaltenders have rarely received credit for the club's elite-level status.
That includes current goaltender Jimmy Howard, who backstopped the Wings to a first-round victory over the Anaheim Ducks and nearly led them to an upset over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference semifinals in 2013.
The second round of the playoffs hasn't been kind to Howard. He has never gotten past that barrier, and that may be one of the reasons he is not thought of as being in the same class with the game's elite.
Most will mention Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings, Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins as the best goaltenders in the NHL.
Howard does not get consideration, but he has numbers that back him up.
Howard has played in 234 games since being called up to the Red Wings in 2005-06. He started to play regularly in 2009-10 and has held on to that job since then. He has a career .918 save percentage, which is b ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steve Silverman
Is Detroit Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard a Top-Tier Goaltender?
September 6th, 2013 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »
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