Detroit Red Wings 2009

[smogboy]

How many points has Howard left on the table because of weak Shoot-out performances?
I'm not at all sold on him.
I see the Mule is replacing Holmstrom in the Olympics. At first that didnt make sense since he is recovering from the knee injury. However he needs playing time and this really helps. Please dont get hurt!

Obviously the buck has got to stop with the goalies in Shootouts but let's not solely pin the blame on Jimmy Howard here. Ideally we should just outright win the games in regulation. I'd be curious to see the stats on how many games this team has let the lead slip away in the third period in order for us to go to OT and the Shootout. And once we do get to the Shootout, where are our snipers in all of this?

Datsyuk- [[11 attempts) 54.5%
Filppula- [[2 attempts) 50%
Bertuzzi- [[6 attempts) 33.3%
Williams- [[6 attempts) 33.3%
Zetterberg- [[10 attempts) 20%
Miller- [[1 attempt) 100%

I see that Shootouts are an entirely different beast than the regular game too. Just briefly looking over the stats there, goalies' regular save percentages are hovering around the .900 mark whereas even the best goalie in a shootout is about 50%- most seem to be at or around the 35% range. Jimmy Howard's stats are at 36.1%- not stellar but not far from the norm. In regular game situations, Howard is 5th in the league with an impressive .927 save percentage.

I will admit there was a time when Osgood and Hasek were teammates I had the nutty notion of if Osgood ever got the team to a Shootout, let Hasek come in [[cold) and let it be an intimidation/ mind game factor against the other team's shooters. But seriously at that point of their professional careers, are there any goalies that can intimidate a shooter? 'Twas just a thought.

As far as the Olympics, please don't let ANYone get hurt. I know it's for national pride but it's still a game and from a fans' perspective- we want these guys around for the long haul in the NHL. Play hard, win your respective medals for your countries but come back strong and play for the Cup too!

[Downriviera]

I've been really impressed with the Wings on this latest west coast road trip. They have played hard nosed, tough hockey. While we lament the goal scorers we lost, who often disappeared in the playoffs, we now have more of a grinding type of team better suited for the playoffs. And we got ourselves a great goalie in Howard. Go Wings.