There’s been plenty to be concerned about during the Detroit Red Wings’ current 1-5-1 skid. Goaltending isn’t among those issues. Jimmy Howard has picked up right where he left off prior to being injured last season, and other than an off-night in Toronto, has been stellar between the pipes. “He’s in control of his game,… Blashill said. “Howie two years ago went to work, and his technique, I think, is way better and I think his competitive level is real high. “I don’t see any weakness, any chink in his armor. I think his game is right where it needs to be.… Howard has accounted for four of Detroit’s five wins this season. “He’s been excellent even when we haven’t gotten the wins,… forward Gus Nyquist said. He’s seen a couple of recent strong seasons scuttled by injury, so Howard isn’t about to take anything for granted, downplaying his strong start to the campaign. “Just doing my job out there,… Howard said. “Just go out there and play, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to go out there and have fun.… Howard has been on such a roll, the Wings are finding it hard to find playing time for Petr Mrazek. “There’s lots that go into those decisions for sure, and part of it is when guys are in a groove, playing them,… Blashill said. “And part of it is not letting a guy you know that’s going to have to have an impact on your year go too long without playing, so certainly that’s part of the decision process.…
Taking The Blame Penalties are proving to be a real problem for the Wings this season, and one of the surprising culprits is center Dylan Larkin. Larkin leads the team with 18 penalty minutes, and has accumulated 10 minutes, all minors, in the past three games. “I think it’s just being lazy, cheating,… Larkin frankly admitted. “Something that I’m trying to get out of my game. You should never have to take penalties if you’re on the right side of the puck, or doing the right thing. “I’ve just got to be more disciplined, more focused.… Taking A Seat The Wings expected Danny DeKeyser to return to their defense late last week. Now it appears that you won’t be seeing DeKeyser patrolling the Detroit blue-line for quite some time. Blashill revealed after Monday’s practice that DeKeyser, out since suffering a sprained ankle Oct. 10 at Dallas, is going to be shut down for a week to see if the ankle responds better to rest. “He kind of, as he was progressing, as we ramped up to more live battle level, all the sudden it started to hurt him more,… Blashill explained. “We re-evaluated today and docs want to hold him out a week and then see where it’s at right now. So for me it would be 1-3 weeks (before DeKeyser is back).… Then Blashill immediately upped the ante. “He’ll stay off the ice for a week, so I shouldn’t say one (week),… Blashill said. “Really, it’s 10 days at least before he’d be available for a game, so 10-21 days is what it looks like right now.… Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer