On an aptly named Black Friday, Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard was injured against the New Jersey Devils. Relegated to backup duty for the past couple of games, Petr Mrazek was thrust into action. Now, with Howard out after suffering a groin injury, Mrazek must be the man and step up for his team.
While the disappointing start to the Detroit Red Wings season can’t be blamed on one player alone, Jimmy Howard has at least been a revelation for the team. Even with his .500 record (5-5-0), Howard is posting fantastic stats for the Red Wings.
So far in 2016-17, the league average for goalies is a .914 save percentage and 2.55 goals against average. Howard has a .940 SV% (save percentage) and 1.82 GAA (goals against average), playing well above expectations.
Mrazek’s Early Season Struggles
Mrazek seemed to have a secure hold on the starter role heading into 2016-17, but his early struggles and Howard’s stellar play quickly pushed him to a backup role.
Union and Blue
Although Mrazek has posted a similar record to that of Howard (5-5-1), his stats don’t even come close to matching up with his teammate. Mrazek holds a .897 SV% and 3.18 GAA. Both are currently well below the league average for goaltenders.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for Mrazek’s numbers.
Occasionally Detroit has played lackluster games, and as a result, the goaltender has been left to face the music. Other times, the inexperienced defense has so many turnovers it’s impossible to blame the goaltender. Sometimes though, the goalie just gets in his own head and plays poorly.
Mrazek has been victim to all three of these scenarios this season, and he must improve his play so that the Red Wings may continue to gather points. Even though the Red Wings and Mrazek got the win in New Jersey, it was a tough battle. There were goals scored against Mrazek that he probably should have stopped, and only time will tell if Mrazek is able to regain his form from past seasons.
Detroit Hit With Injury Bug
The Detroit Red Wings are under siege by injuries. Howard is on the seven-day injured list (he joins defenseman Alexey Marchenko who also sits on the same list).
Saturday night’s game resulted in two players leaving the ice after collisions, Brendan Smith, as well as Tyler Bertuzzi. Their timetable or severity of injury is currently unknown. The only thing GM Ken Holland has reported so far is that both will be out “for a bit, not sure how long”. In that same game veteran Niklas Kronwall took a maintenance day and did not play. Tomas Jurco is close to returning, currently with the Grand Rapids Griffins on a conditioning stint.
Next: Quarter Season Award Leaders
The Detroit Red Wings play host to the Dallas Stars next on Tuesday, November 29th. It should be a great early test for Petr Mrazek against the high-octane offense the led the league in goals just a year ago.