Jimmy Howard: Detroit Red Wings' Rookie Succeeding Despite Team in Front of Him

Goalie stats can be a somewhat deceptive measure of one's ability.

For example, a minuscule goals-against average could indicate a goalie that regularly stands on his head for his team.

Or it could indicate that the team in front of him is so good that a well placed trash can in net might have similar numbers.

A goalie's save percentage is a more accurate measure of the goalie's ability because it deals directly with the number of saves he makes compared to the number of shots he faces.

However, a high save percentage doesn't account for meaningful saves or soft goals.

There's another oft-overlooked goalie stat that, when combined with GAA and save percentage, gives a more complete picture of what a goalie means to his team: average shots-against per game.

Now, that being said, don't go looking for that number in a stats column; most who track such things don't include it.

But when looking at Jimmy Howard's stats, and including his average shots-against per game, one finds he's even more important to the Wings than previously thought.

Through 37 games played, Jimmy Howard has faced an average of 31 shots per game.

His 2.28 GAA is currently tied with San Jose Sharks goalie, Evgeni Nabokov, for fifth-best in the league, and his save percentage of .928 is the league's sixth-best.

These are solid stats for any No. 1 goalie in the league, let alone a rookie.

Speaking of No. 1 goalies, let's take a look at Detroit veteran Chris Osgood's numbers.

His .891 save percentage is good for the 62nd-best in the NHL, and his 2.94 GAA is ranked 34th.

Now, considering Detroit's problem maintaining puck possession, and thus limiting shots against their goalies, Osgood's stats are poor but not unexpectedly so.

Until you look at his average shots-against per game.

Through 21 games played, Chris Osgood has faced an average of 24 shots per game—seven fewer than Jimmy Howard faces, yet Osgood's statistics are remarkably worse.

To put it plainly, the Red Wings have typically played worse in front of Howard than they have in front of Osgood.

Despite this, Howard is perhaps the only reason the Red Wings are still within striking distance of a playoff spot.

What's more, when looking at the two games in which he's faced the most shots—a ridiculously high 52 shots on Jan. 7 against the LA Kings, and last Friday, a 48 shot explosion from Nashville, a team that is usually held to about 29 shots per game—one will notice that Howard actually won both of these games.

Not bad for a rookie goalie hung out to dry by his veteran teammates.

Howard has certainly earned his team's trust, but that shouldn't mean that they're fine with allowing the opposition to turn games into target practice, but that's what they've done.

If they played the way they have in front of Osgood when Jimmy Howard is in net, Detroit might actually have a few more points, a few more wins, and a solid grasp on an eighth or seventh playoff spot.

Howard's numbers are great and evidence of a goalie on the rise.

But considering he's maintained these stats while consistently putting his veteran team on his rookie back, Howard's value to his team this season is immeasurable.