Jimmy Howard: Detroit's Top Ten Goalie?

As I look at the season that the Detroit Red Wings put together after bowing out to Chicago, one thing sticks out to me as not being mentioned nearly enough by fans: Jimmy Howard has emerged as a top ten goaltender.

Oddly, my dad who listens to Detroit sports radio regularly, is always telling me about callers who are complaining about Howard. Huh? 

This guy played behind a team that iced Kyle Quincey and Brendan Smith as their second pairing for most of the playoffs. Not surprisingly, he faced the most shots in the playoffs after the first two rounds... by far - 50 more than Henrik Lundqvist, who was second. Still, he boasted the 7th best save percentage (.924) of any goalie who played a full game in the playoffs. Not to be redundant, but he also faced the most even strength shots of any goalie through two rounds and once again - wait for it - 7th best even strength save percenatage  (.938) of any goalie who played a full game in the playoffs. 

Let's take another look at Detroit's defense pairings:

Kronwall - Ericsson

Quincey - Smith

Kindl - Colaiacovo/DeKeyser/Lashoff 

If you don't follow the Detroit Red Wings or the NHL very closely, that's simply not a solid group defensively. Some potential there, but just not a good group. 

The regular season was more of the same. Howard faced the 7th most shots of any goaltender. He tied for the 9th (.923) best save percentage among goalies who played more than 15 games (aka starting goaltenders). His regular season save percentage (.937) was 6th in the league among goalies who played more than 5 games. He also had the most shutouts of any goalie. 

Then there's the eye test. Just watch the guy play. He made tremendous saves every game - every period in these playoffs. 

In my books he's a top ten goalie in the league. That's probably arguable. But the bottom line is he's a darn good goalie. 

I'll be posting frequently (I hope) looking back at this season and looking towards the offseason. I just thought I'd get this short post out of the way as some of the comments I've heard about Howard were irking me.

UPDATE:

This post by Patrick Hoffman is better/professional and similar to what mine says. Check it out.