Redwings: Howard Blanks The Ducks; Franzen Comes Alive

Added on Dec 04, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

Jimmy Howard and Johan Franzen always seem to be on their game when they play the Anaheim Ducks. With 41 saves, and blanking the ducks, Howard seemed to be impenetrable, While Johan Franzen scored on the first shot of the game. This was his second shutout this year, and this was the ninth time this season that Howard faced 30 or more shots, but he doesn’t mind at all. Detroit’s record in those games is 7-2.

Howard felt the pressure all night, and said after the game “They came at us hard all night. They just threw pucks at the net from everywhere. I felt good out there and I’ve felt that way for a while. I think it’s just confidence building off of last year. I feel I have the confidence of my teammates when I’m playing, and that makes it a lot easier. I’m not doing anything special out there. I’m just trying to get in the way of the puck.”

Howard feels he gets more comfortable in the games when he faces a lot of shots. He said “For a goalie, it’s a lot easier this way because you get into a rhythm. Sometimes our team is so good at controlling the play, you sort of become a spectator down at the other end and you have to find a way to keep your mind into it. So when you’re getting lots of work, it’s easier to stay in the game.”

Franzen opened the scoring 69 seconds after the opening faceoff after a sloppy turnover by defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky in the Ducks zone. Filppula missed Franzen with a cross-ice pass, but Franzen played the carom off the left-corner boards and scored his 11th goal on a one-timer to the glove side as Visnovsky screened Hiller. “I didn’t actually see the puck,” Hiller said. “It was a bad turnover in our zone that led to the whole thing. It’s tough to be down that early the game, especially against a team that plays such solid defense as Detroit does.”

Franzen has a goal in each of his last seven regular-season games against the Ducks. He missed all four meetings with them last season because of a knee injury that sidelined him for 55 games. Coach Mike Babcock said of Franzen, “When you look at the way that Mule can play when he’s at his best, I don’t think he’s at that level yet this year. I mean, he’s always going to score. But when he’s really going, he’s all over the puck and he makes good plays. Obviously, he missed a ton of time last year, but his game has been evolving again since coming back from that injury, and it takes time. But that line has been a good line for us—and on a lot of nights, it’s our best line.”

Things are going to get a little bit easier for Detroit when they get a few of their players back off of injury. In Los Angeles, on Saturday night; goalie Chris Osgood starting for the first time since Oct. 30 after sitting out 13 games with a groin pull and center Kris Draper making his season debut after missing 23 games because of a groin injury and a sports hernia that required surgery. The Redwings will play the Los Angeles Kings (14-10-0, 28pts.) The Ducks will face the second place Phoenix Coyotes (12-7-5, 29pts) on Sunday at home.