Detroit Red Wings Should Start Petr Mrazek Against Lightning

By Eli Kaplan | Apr 12, 2016

Photograph: Leon Halip-USA TODAY Sports /

With the playoffs beginning shortly, the Detroit Red Wings have two goalies to choose from, but only one right answer. Here’s a hint; It’s not Jimmy Howard.

For the 25th consecutive season the Detroit Red Wings have qualified for the playoffs. For the second year in a row, their first round opponent will be the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last year the Lightning won the matchup in seven games, as Ben Bishop and company bested Petr Mrazek in his first NHL playoffs.

This year the Wings appear to be set on trying something different, beginning in goal. They will start veteran Jimmy Howard over Mrazek, and hope for a better result this time around.

Doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity, so giving Howard the opportunity to beat the Lightning makes some sense on the surface.

But Petr Mrazek is the present and future of the Wings in goal, and he is the only logical choice for the franchise moving forward.

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Jimmy Howard is a good goalie and veteran presence. He has won playoff series before – something Petr Mrazek is yet to do at the NHL level. And Howard steadied the team in the homestretch of the season, when Mrazek’s performance and consistency tailed off.

Even so, Jimmy Howard is no Petr Mrazek. Howard has had years to prove he’s an elite goaltender, capable of putting a team on his back on carrying them to a Stanley Cup. Despite some impressive streaks, Howard has proven he’s competent, not elite.

Howard has shown time and time again that he is not a difference maker – not a goalie who can be counted on to steal a game (or a series) and win for his team, even when his team is outplayed by its opponent. Howard also faltered in the final two games of the season, when the postseason stakes were highest.

Petr Mrazek has less on his resume, but more potential. Mrazek almost beat the Lightning last season, though Detroit was ultimately edged out by Tampa Bay in seven games. Mrazek stole game one all by himself, stopping 44 of 46 shots, enabling Detroit to prevail 3-2, even while the Red Wings managed just 14 total shots.

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If that performance is too distant a memory to give Mrazek the nod for a second playoff run, then you need only look back at the first half of this season. At the midway point of the season Mrazek was leading the league in save percentage and goals against average. His second half of the year was less stellar, but still his overall stats are better than Howard’s.

And if Mrazek is the presumed goalie of the future for Detroit, why start anyone else in goal this playoff year? It’s highly unlikely Howard will turn into an elite goaltender overnight, so what do the Wings gain by sitting Mrazek?

Howard could perform well, and raise his trade value, if the Red Wings want to find a taker for his hefty contract. Simultaneously, sitting Mrazek keeps his value from rising – he’ll be a restricted free agent this summer and Detroit will have to re-sign him.

But playing Howard over Mrazek during the postseason keeps Mrazek from gaining valuable experience. It prevents Mrazek from a second opportunity at a playoff run. It puts Detroit’s best goalie on the bench. And it keeps the Wings running in place, when they need to be shifting into overdrive.

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If GM Ken Holland and coach Jeff Blashill are going to continue to steer the Wings organization properly, they needs to realize when they’re driving in circles, and when it’s time to ask for directions. Because without a new and improved navigation system the Wings could very easily end up out of gas, on the side of the road, very far away from their desired destination.

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