Howard played very well in the first round series vs. Anaheim. He posted a 2.74 GAA and .911 SV% in that series which are not fantastic numbers but the Ducks scored more than a couple fluky goals on Howard. Brendan Smith scored on his own net and they had a couple go in by just throwing it on net and getting bounces, no fault of Howard's. He will need to be the backbone of the Wings again in the second round if they are going to take down the #1 seed Blackhawks.