The stars finally aligned for Jimmy Howard.
Turning in his second successive strong performance between the pipes, this time Howard was rewarded with a victory, his first since Dec. 3, as the Detroit Red Wings scored a 3-2 overtime decision Monday over the Dallas Stars.
“I felt like it was coming for a while,… said Howard, who ended a personal 0-5-3 winless skid. “Just some bounces didn’t go my way. You stick with it. You had to figure sooner or later some of the puck luck was going to change a little bit. It has and I just think it comes with the hard work you put in as a player day in and day out.
“I’m just happy I was able to be out there and get two points for the guys.…
It was the second game in a row that Howard has looked like the goalie that was picked to go to the NHL All-Star Game last season.
“He actually played unbelievable the last game he played (a 1-0 overtime loss to the New York Rangers) and he gave us a chance,… said Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk, who netted the game winner Monday. “Today he made lots of saves, kept us in the game.
Howard has stopped 74 of the last 77 shots he’s faced over his last three appearances, good for a .961 save percentage.
“He was a brick wall back there,… Detroit forward Andreas Athanasiou said of Howard, who made 41 saves Monday.
AA’s Efforts Athanasiou produced the first multi-goal game of his NHL career and his second goal might be the prettiest scored by a Wing this season.
He picked up the puck at the Dallas blue line after a strong forecheck by linemate Dylan Larkin, turned Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya inside out and then roofed a shot over sprawling Dallas goalie Antti Niemi.
“I was picking up a lot of speed in the D-zone, the puck funnelled up to Larks on the wall and he made a great play to take the D out and kind of leave a little room to pick up the puck,… Athanasiou said. “I was coming in with a lot of speed and fortunately that move worked out.…
Athanasiou feels he’s growing more confident and comfortable at the NHL level with every passing shift.
“When you get a little opportunity and every game I get and every shift I get I kind of build up a little more and get a little more confidence out there,… Athanasiou said. “It’s just growing with every shift and every game.
“It’s an unbelievable experience. I’ve been learning so much. I’m just trying to battle here as much as I can to help these guys win every chance I get.…
His darting quickness on blades is turning heads everywhere.
“He doesn’t have speed,… Datsyuk said of Athanasiou. “He’s lightning.…
Standing Pat Detroit coach Jeff Blashill wasn’t disappointed that the Wings opted not to make any moves to add personnel as the NHL traded deadline passed Monday afternoon.
“It’s a little bit like July 1 (opening of free agency), where there’s some opportunities for teams to add but lots of times there’s also mistakes out there,… Blashill said. “Chemistry is real important. You build chemistry through time and I think we’ve got a good group with chemistry here. I like our squad a lot.…
Blashill is quite fine moving ahead with the team he currently has in place.
“I’d say I’m more than comfortable, I’m excited about the roster going forward,… Blashill said. “(Tomas) Tatar and (Gustav) Nyquist are going to get going. I know that. They’re proven scorers in the league. I don’t know where else you find 29- and 27-goal scorers.
“We’ve got guys here that I believe in a ton. It’s easy to want to add but lots of times those end up being mistakes. I’m very pleased with our group and now we’ve got to excel at a high level.
“The league is so tight, it’s incredible. You look at the best team in the league. Washington, the three games we played against them - an overtime, a shootout and we won 1-0.
“We’re right there, we’ve just got to keep getting better as a hockey team.…
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