Former University of Maine All-American goalie Jimmy Howard had an up-and-down 2014-15 season for the Detroit Red Wings and found himself fighting to regain his No. 1 job during this preseason.
After earning his second All-Star nod by posting a 16-7-7 record, a 2.08 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage during the first half of the season, Howard suffered a slight groin tear on Jan. 10 against Washington.
He was sidelined and struggled when he returned to the lineup, losing his job to Petr Mrazek for the playoffs.
Howard finished the season with a 23-13-11 record, a 2.44 GAA and a .910 save percentage. The former U.S. Olympian is 175-99-48 in 338 career games with a 2.42 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
But Howard had a productive preseason and is looking forward to Friday night’s season-opener against visiting Toronto.
He downplayed the battle for the starting job.
“I don’t think this preseason has been different than any other year,” said the 31-year-old Howard, who has a home on Green Lake in Dedham. “You’re always fighting for your position. There’s always a young guy who wants your job.
“It has been good. It has been healthy competition, and that’s good for the organization,” he said.
Howard posted a 3-0 record, a 2.00 GAA and a .942 save percentage during the preseason while the 23-year-old Mrazek was 2-0-1 with a 1.94 and a .942 save percentage.
“Things went well. I did everything in my power to give myself a chance to be the go-to guy. Now we’ll just have to see how everything shakes out,” Howard said.
He tweaked his conditioning regimen and started skating a lot earlier than usual in preparation for training camp.
“I worked on some new movements. You always try to learn new things,” said Howard.
He said when he returned from his groin injury last season, “teams were making a push for the playoffs, and I felt like I was a step behind.”
Howard said he has a great relationship with Mrazek, very similar to the one he had with UMaine goaltending partner Frank Doyle.
“We’re both competitive. We both want to play. But we get along great,” he said.
First-year Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill told the Detroit Free Press recently that “both goalies have played really, really well. We have two guys that have both proven at different times to be elite and both can be elite. Jimmy looks confident. He is patient in the net and pucks are sticking to him. He has been making big saves at big moments.”
Blashill indicated that with a rash of back-to-back games in October, four to be exact, “we’re going to need both of them.”