Injuries have been a major theme in Detroit this year (see here), and that carried over on Friday, when the club announced that goalie Jimmy Howard would miss the next 4-6 weeks with a knee sprain.
First reported by the Detroit News, Howard’s injury confirmation comes just days after he was hurt in a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was helped off the ice early in the second period after being crashed into by Nick Jensen and Tampa Bay’s Erik Condra -- prior to that, Howard had stopped 15 of 16 shots for a .938 save percentage.
Unlike most teams, Detroit is equipped to deal with the loss of a starting netminder. Because they have two of ‘em, see. Petr Mrazek has shared starts with Howard throughout the year and will now have the No. 1 gig all to himself, with AHL Grand Rapids recall Jared Coreau serving as his backup.
That said, this is still a big loss for the Wings. Though his record leaves something to be desired -- he’s just 5-7-1 on the season -- Howard has posted both a sparkling save percentage (.934) and GAA (1.96) this season.
Mrazek, meanwhile, has the better record -- 9-7-3 -- but significantly lower save percentage (.899) and a higher GAA (3.06).