Jimmy Howard came into tonight’s action mired in a bit of a slump, having lost three games in a row.
Things didn’t get any better.
Howard lasted just over 14 minutes into Tuesday’s game against the Devils, getting hooked after allowing three goals on six shots -- with all three goals coming in a span of just 2:12.
Kyle Palmieri got things going on the power play to make it 1-0 New Jersey and then, just 42 seconds later, Jordin Tootoo scored his third of the year to push the lead to two.
At the 14:17 mark, David Schlemko scored his third goal of the year -- on an assist from Palmieri -- to chase Howard for good. Petr Mrazek took over and with less than 90 seconds to go in the period, Dylan Larkin scored to make the score 3-1.
Despite Howard’s lack of wins lately, he’s actually posted pretty good numbers -- a 2.49 GAA and .932 save percentage over the aforementioned three-game losing streak.
It’ll be interesting to see how -- or, if -- tonight’s performance affects his playing time moving forward.