Wings, Howard up their shootout game

Remember when the Detroit Red Wings were abysmal at the shootout? Remember when Jimmy Howard resembled a sieve in the shootout? Well, neither happens any more. The Wings won 2-1 over the Ottawa Senators in a shootout on Saturday, Howard foiling all three Senators shooters while Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal for Detroit. The Wings have now won 11 shootouts in a row since Feb. 20, 2016, also at Ottawa, where they fell 3-2 to the Senators. Part of the turnaround must be credited to center Frans Nielsen, among the NHL’s greatest shootout performers. Signed as a free agent last season, Nielsen scored his 20th career shootout winner on Saturday, giving him the NHL’s all-time lead in that category by one over T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals. “A little lucky, but kind of my go-to one, the backhander,… Nielsen said of the tally he lifted past Ottawa’s Craig Anderson. “I fanned a little bit on it but it was good to see go in.… At the other end, Howard carried his metamorphosis as a shootout stopper into a new season. He blocked six of seven shots last season for an .833 shootout save percentage, far above his career average of .674. In prior seasons, Howard’s shootout work rated barely above a shooter tutor. He was .556 (five-of-nine) in 2015-16, and .469 (15-of-32) in 2014-15. Why the difference? He played coy when asked. “I really don’t know,… Howard claimed. “I couldn’t tell you. I’m not giving away my secrets.… In reality, his shootout game has improved for the same reason his overall puckstopping ability has gone up a notch. “I’m just keeping it simple and quiet, not trying to overdo anything,… Howard explained. “We do it a lot in practice now. We do it a lot. I think practice, when it comes into that situation, you’re not over-thinking anything. You’re just letting them make the first move.… Daley Double? Detroit coach Jeff Blashill surprised more than a few people by going with defenseman Trevor Daley as his third shooter but cited research as the reason why he did so. “We’ve done a number of breakaway competitions and Trevor’s been excellent on them, so I went with Trevor,… Blashill said. “Obviously, I had other real good guys in (Henrik) Zetterberg and (Tomas) Tatar and other guys but I went with Trevor and I’ve gots of faith in him. “I’ll use him again at some point this year.… Follow me on Twitter @asktheduffer