Howard Not Happy At Being Benched; Mrazek Says Howard Still Number One Goaltender
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - After Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard strode into the dressing room following practice Friday afternoon and sat down in front of his locker, he greeted the waiting group of reporters with his trademark grin.
The smile faded a bit once the conversation started. After head coach Mike Babcock pulled Howard after the first period in Thursday's loss to the San Jose Sharks, Babcock designated Petr Mrazek as the starter for Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
As one would expect, Howard is not happy about being benched.
"I want to be out there every single night, just like anyone else," Howard said. "When you get to this level, one of the things that drive you is competing. It never sits well in my mouth when I'm sitting there on the bench. I want to be out there every single night, but Coach feels like I don't deserve it, and maybe it'll be a good thing just to put in a little bit of work here."
As for his reaction when he got the news, Howard intimated the move did not necessarily surprise him.
"It's no different than anyone else," Howard said. "This position, when you're not playing well, you're going to be benched, and there's a lot of guys in this dressing room that have gone through that.
"You can sit there and you can have the 'poor me's about it," Howard continued, "or you can get out there and get back to work and help your team."
Howard said the talk of whether he or Mrazek should be the number one goaltender never enters his mind. Mrazek said the same, but he added that, in his opinion, there should be no such conversation.
"I know Howie still is the number one, I'm sure," Mrazek said at his locker, a few minutes before Howard came into the room. "He's proven himself for so many years. I think this year he was great. It's how it is at goalie; sometimes when nothing hits you, everything's going, you have to just battle and come back, so I don't think we should talk about the number one goalie. I think that's for sure Howie.
"Howie's still number one here," Mrazek repeated. "There's no question about that."
Howard allowed three goals on 10 shots Thursday, and he also struggled Tuesday against the Arizona Coyotes, giving up five goals. Howard said his groin - an injury to it forced him to miss most of January - has not been bothering him, and he said his poor performance is not a confidence issue, either.
"After going over the video tape and talking with goalie coach Jim Bedard, it's just following the puck with my eyes," Howard said. "I think it's just that simple. I think with a goalie, if you're not following a puck to the best of your abilities and you're behind that split-second, it can mean the difference.
"It's key, especially with, you get big bodies in front, you've got to focus on that puck," Howard added later. "You can't lose sight of it. Pucks are going to go in in the NHL, we all know that. It's just about brushing it off and trying to make that next save for the guys."
Howard characterized his recent rough stretch as a minor hiccup, and he noted it is better to have it happen now than in the playoffs.
"No different than anyone else in the NHL - every person goes through this through the course of a season," Howard said. "It's just a little blessing in disguise that it's happening right now and not two to three weeks from now."
Mrazek is excited to start against Tampa Bay, but he would not look any further ahead than Saturday.
"It's just one game tomorrow, and we have to go game by game, and we'll see what happens," Mrazek said.
Babcock conveyed that he does not much care which of the two goaltender emerges from what is unarguably a tighter competition now than earlier in the season.
"I like winning," Babcock said. "That's it for me, so it's just, it's real simple ... Any time you're struggling as a player, it's your job to work extra hard. When you get your opportunity, it's to seize your opportunity. And so it's no different for Pete Mrazek. He gets an opportunity, he's got to seize it.
"We just watch, and they decide who plays, not us," Babcock added. "Everyone thinks the coach decides. All the coach does is observe, no different than you do. He just does it from a different perspective, and then the guys that play the best get to play."
