Jimmy Howard Must Be Difference Maker in Return for Detroit Red Wings Tonight

A quick look at the standings in the Central Division will reveal that, as far as positioning goes, tonight's game between the St. Louis Blues and visiting Detroit Red Wings isn't going to mean much.

With a 12-point lead over St. Louis, the division-leading Red Wings aren't going to suffer much should they lose the game tonight.

However, there's more than just points on the line tonight, something arguably more important: a good start.

The Red Wings of late have been something just this side of terrible in the first period over the past 10 games.

The need to "get started on time," as coach Mike Babcock refers to it, has been preached endlessly over this stretch, yet the message has not successfully translated into action.

Giveaways, miscues, soft play along the boards and shaky goaltending have all contributed to Detroit's nagging habit of putting themselves down a goal or two to start a game.

While the Red Wings' battle-back ability has been admirable, planning to play the part of Comeback Kids night after night is no way to win hockey games with any regularity.

The Red Wings remain depleted due to injuries, and this certainly contributes to their habitually slow starts over the last little while.

Still, this team, even as it is currently assembled, can still win games more often than they lose them.

Tonight, the Red Wings will see their starting goalie return to the net.

While getting Jimmy Howard back is a good thing, how good of a thing it will be is yet to be determined.

After an outstanding start to his second full season, Jimmy Howard has struggled with consistency the past two months.

While Howard has shown he still has the ability to play out of his mind against good teams (the Red Wings' 2-1 shootout win over Vancouver a couple of weeks ago being a prime example), he hasn't shown it often enough to dispel the perception that Howard may indeed be suffering through a bit of a sophomore slump.

Tonight, Howard will get the opportunity to be a difference maker for his team and hopefully, he'll make the most of it.

While the team-wide defensive struggles and first-period sluggishness remain serious problems, nothing erases on-ice mistakes better than a stingy goalie.

Howard needs to get his season back on track, and he needs to start by making his return to Detroit's line-up a newsworthy event.

Getting your starting goalie back into the line-up should always make a positive impact on your team.

Hopefully, Howard will prove this to be the case tonight by being the difference maker he needs to be.

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