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He is looking forward to hanging out at his house on Green Lake this summer.
But, for the time being, former University of Maine record-setting, All-America goalie Jimmy Howard will be getting a taste of the Stanley Cup finals.
Howard is the Detroit Red Wings’ No. 3 goalie behind veterans Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek and spends games working out and watching the games in the Red Wings’ locker room. He travels and practices with the Red Wings, since an injury to either goalie would thrust him into the backup role.
The Red Wings entertain Pittsburgh in their best-of-seven Stanley Cup championship series beginning tonight.
“It’s going to be a very fast series. Both teams can skate. And both teams can score. Both are loaded up front. It’s the young [Pittsburgh] versus the old [Detroit],” said Howard, who added the winner will be the team that is more opportunistic and more thorough defensively.
Howard was an American Hockey League All-Star this past season for Grand Rapids and finished with a 21-28-2 record, a 2.83 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. He was 0-2 with a 2.13 GAA and a .926 save percentage in four games for the Red Wings.
He said the Red Wings practices “serve as games for me” and he fills in for Osgood when the veteran wants to take a breather.
He is using practices to improve himself.
“When you have guys like [Pavel] Datsyuk, Dan Cleary and Nicklas Lidstrom shooting pucks at you, it has to make you better,” said the 24-year-old Howard. “It gets boring because I want to play. But I want to learn as much as I can.”
In fact, in the unlikely scenario that he does get to play, he says “I feel very confident I could step in [and do the job]. I’m seeing enough shots in practice.”
He said it has also been valuable to be around the players to see “how they handle the pressure and how hard they work.”
The third-year pro said there is definitely a buzz of anticipation and excitement in the air. Red Wings paraphernalia is everywhere.
“You’re four wins away from winning one of the toughest championships to win,” said Howard.
There has been considerable speculation in the media the 43-year-old Hasek intends to retire after this season and Howard could be the 35-year-old Osgood’s backup next season.
“That would be the best situation [for me] but you never know. Only Dominik knows if he is going to retire,” said Howard, who will be a restricted free agent this summer meaning the Red Wings will have an opportunity to match a contract offer given to him by another team.
lmahoney@bangordailynews.net
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