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I'm convinced it's impossible for a goalie to win over Red Wing fans
My latest column in The Oakland Press: http://bit.ly/fyJzre
posted by Pat Caputo at
12:27 AM
Thursday, March 03, 2011
About Me
- Name: Pat Caputo
- Location: Pontiac, Michigan, United States
Pat Caputo is a sports columnist for The Oakland Press. Caputo covered the Tigers from 1986-98, and Lions from 1998-2002 for The Oakland Press before becoming a columnist. Caputo was raised in Birmingham and played baseball and football at Groves High School. His photograph playing high school sports appeared in The Oakland Press. He has won numerous writing awards, including first place in column writing from the Michigan Associated Press and the Michigan Press Association, and from the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has been named among the Top Ten sports columnists in the nation by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE), and has won honors in four of the APSE's six national award categories. He has garnered top national honors for his column writing and sports writing from the Local Media Association. Caputo, who has resided in Oakland County since he was nine years old, currently lives in Lake Orion. Caputo has a radio show weeknights and weekends on 97.1 FM, The Ticket, which is the flagship station for the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings. He also appears regularly on FOX 2 television on "SportsWorks."
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4 Comments:
Bad timing with the article.
Jimmy Howard, in my opinion, shamelessly cost the Red Wings tonight's game with his absurd "defense" in the O.T. penalty shot. Dude went 15, 20 feet away from the net. I'm not a hockey goalie, but I do know that if the shooter can skate to the far side of you and still have room between him and the net, you're probably not minding your post too well.
Immediately after he cost the team the game, Howard threw a fit and went complaining to the refs. (I thought the penalty shot was totally warranted. But even if it weren't, Howard had the responsibility of doing his job just the same. Instead, he seemed to be looking for an excuse to get out of there and complain.)
The rest of the team had a pretty lousy night - including not scoring on a 90-second 5 on 3 - but Howard was as bad as anybody else, that's for sure.
Anyway, I know your article was about the more long-term value of Howard, not just one game. But I disagree with you there, too. Red Wings goaltenders always seem to have their Wins and their Playoff Wins touted in their favor. Of course, that's because they're playing for a great team, any halfway-competent goalie can win with the Red Wings! But they never tout their GAA or Save Percent.
In other words, you can only cite the team-dependant stats. And for good reason, they play on good teams, but the goalies themselves haven't been very good.
This is just my opinion, but I can't think of one single game all season long where Howard "stole" a game for the Red Wings - where the team was sputtering and tired, and he just really saved them. Not a single one. When the team has been down, Howard has never been there to pick them up. He's just picking up vulture W's, when any goalie could do it, anyway. If the Red Wings had that goalie for the Wild, they'd probably be at 100 points already.
Having said all that....it's just a two-year deal, and so I think that it's acceptable. Two years of mediocrity. But if Howard doesn't kick butt in the playoffs, I hope Holland will look at a trade of some sort.
David Brennan,
Come on. Howard only allowed one goal up to that point and made 25 of 26 saves. Not a bad night.
Caputo
Howard is fine, and that's a cheap deal. They can move him if necessary, if goaltending change becomes necessary.
And the Wings are not a "great team" right now. They might even miss the Playoffs. Injuries have stymied them, yes, but they are not a powerhouse.
Howard is always prepared and is relatively consistent. They woulda been sunk without him last season, and I believe they said he has 32 wins this year.
They can win the cup with his goaltending.
Anonymous,
It's like this: When the Red Wings win, it's because they have a great team. When they lose, it's because they have a bad goalie. It's unfair to the goalie.
Caputo
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