USA TODAY Sports
Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard might have come down with the “yips” in shootouts.
Having the “yips” in the sports world means an athlete suddenly has trouble performing a task that previously had been mastered. It’s the pro golfer who starts to miss short putts, or the second baseman who begins to have trouble throwing the ball to first base or a dependable basketball shooter who can’t find the range from a free throw.
In Howard’s case, he is a high-performing goalie who mysteriously can’t stop opponents in a shootout.
He owns a reasonable .677 shootout percentage during his career, but this season he has given up 11 goals in 15 shots in losing six consecutive shootouts.
His .267 save percentage in shootouts ranks last out of 57 goalies who have been in shootouts this season.
The NHL average shootout percentage is .687 this season. Buffalo’s Jhonas Enroth has been league’s most impressive shootout goalie at .944, stopping 17 of 18. Nashville’s Pekka Rinne is at .895, stopping 17 of 19. Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky is at .824, thwarting 14 of 17 shots.
Howard has only made two legitimate saves this season in the shootout because two of the shooters missed the net. He is 0-6 in them this year. That’s six valuable points lost.
The added strangeness of the turn of events is that Howard statistically is having a strong season. He owns a 2.05 goals-against average, a .922 save percentage, and he has given up two or fewer goals in five consecutive starts. His save percentage is at .944 in that span.
Howard has talked about his issue to the media, expressing frustration and explaining that he doesn’t know what to say.
It hasn’t helped that the Red Wings also aren’t scoring on the shootout. Are the shooters pressing because Howard hasn’t been sharp? Is Howard pressing because the shooters aren’t scoring?
The bottom line: the Red Wings aren’t confident when they are in a shootout. The Red Wings are looking for solution. But no one has yet discovered it.
Your games tonight
Ottawa at New Jersey, 7
Boston at Minnesota, 8
Dallas at Vancouver, 10
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