As hockey spectacles go, the NHL Winter Classic is nearly impossible to top.
Playing a regular-season game outdoors in front of—at least in the case of the 2014 Winter Classic—100,000 fans is something many hockey players would pay to do, let alone earn a paycheck while doing so.
Playing in the Winter Classic is something Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard has been waiting a year-and-a-half to do.
That said, he doesn’t deserve to start the game.
To be clear, this isn’t an assessment arrived at hastily.
Jimmy Howard has earned his spot as Detroit’s No. 1 goalie with exceptionally solid play over the past three seasons. Indeed, this analyst saw Howard as the best goalie in the Atlantic Division prior to the start of the season, as Howard has done nothing but give his team a chance to win on a nightly basis.
Howard has done considerably more good than bad for the Red Wings—recent past included.
Howard’s performance against the Nashville Predators on Monday was perhaps the worst of his ...
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Article written by Matt Hutter