Howard looks to follow up his first career playoff shutout.

DETROIT vs. BOSTON Must-Starts Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk, Gustav Nyquist, Niklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen, Daniel Alfredsson, Jimmy Howard Boston: David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, Jarome Iginla, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask Sleepers Detroit: Tomas Tatar, Brendan Smith, Riley Sheahan, Danny DeKeyser Boston: Carl Soderberg, Reilly Smith, Loui Eriksson, Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton, Notes: It appeared at one point during the season that the Detroit Red Wings were in danger of missing the NHL playoffs for the first time in 22 years.  With the onslaught of injuries to their top personnel, Detroit had to rely on budding superstars Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar.  The young talent contributed to the top line as the Red Wings awaited the return of Jimmy Howard and Pavel Datsyuk back to the lineup.  With their return and the confidence gained by the youngsters, Detroit made its way into the playoffs but now face the big, bad Boston Bruins. The Red Wings will be without the dynamic Henrik Zetterberg for the first round. His experience and leadership skills will surely be missed especially playing against the Bruins.  The Red Wings did have success against the Bruins during the regular season as they won three of the four matchups.  Nyquist was instrumental in beating the Bruins last time out in early April and will be relied upon to be a thorn in the B's side.  Kronwall, along with Jakub Kindl, lead the defense with Smith and DeKeyser supplying depth with some offensive talent, but most of the offense will have to come from Kronwall.  Jonathan Ericsson and Kyle Quincey complete the top pairings on the blue line.  Jimmy Howard got off to a horrible start to the season and then got injured.  Upon returning, Howard began to play like his old self. The Red Wings will need for that to continue if they have any chance of advancing past the Bruins. The Boston Bruins come in as huge favorites, given that they captured the President's Trophy with 117 points. On offense, their balanced depth has been a major asset to their winning ways as they come at you with 4 lines that can score. Not one player in the top 20, but they boast five 20-goal scorers led by Jarome Iginla and Patrice Bergeron with 30. The top line of Iginla, David Krejci, and Milan Lucic carried the scoring over the last quarter of the season, combining for 73 goals on the year. Bergeron led a second unit consisting of the speedy Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith, both solid ancillary offensive...

DETROIT vs. BOSTON Must-Starts Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk, Gustav Nyquist, Niklas Kronwall, Johan Franzen, Daniel Alfredsson, Jimmy Howard Boston: David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, Jarome Iginla, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask Sleepers Detroit: Tomas Tatar, Brendan Smith, Riley Sheahan, Danny DeKeyser Boston: Carl Soderberg, Reilly Smith, Loui Eriksson, Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton, Notes: It appeared at one point during the season that the Detroit Red Wings were in danger of missing the NHL playoffs for the first time in 22 years.  With the onslaught of injuries to their top personnel, Detroit had to rely on budding superstars Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar.  The young talent contributed to the top line as the Red Wings awaited the return of Jimmy Howard and Pavel Datsyuk back to the lineup.  With their return and the confidence gained by the youngsters, Detroit made its way into the playoffs but now face the big, bad Boston Bruins. The Red Wings will be without the dynamic Henrik Zetterberg for the first round. His experience and leadership skills will surely be missed especially playing against the Bruins.  The Red Wings did have success against the Bruins during the regular season as they won three of the four matchups.  Nyquist was instrumental in beating the Bruins last time out in early April and will be relied upon to be a thorn in the B's side.  Kronwall, along with Jakub Kindl, lead the defense with Smith and DeKeyser supplying depth with some offensive talent, but most of the offense will have to come from Kronwall.  Jonathan Ericsson and Kyle Quincey complete the top pairings on the blue line.  Jimmy Howard got off to a horrible start to the season and then got injured.  Upon returning, Howard began to play like his old self. The Red Wings will need for that to continue if they have any chance of advancing past the Bruins. The Boston Bruins come in as huge favorites, given that they captured the President's Trophy with 117 points. On offense, their balanced depth has been a major asset to their winning ways as they come at you with 4 lines that can score. Not one player in the top 20, but they boast five 20-goal scorers led by Jarome Iginla and Patrice Bergeron with 30. The top line of Iginla, David Krejci, and Milan Lucic carried the scoring over the last quarter of the season, combining for 73 goals on the year. Bergeron led a second unit consisting of the speedy Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith, both solid ancillary offensive...

Howard did not start the year well, but he sure finished it well and enters the playoffs playing his best hockey of the season. He won 21 games with a 2.66 GAA and .910 SV%, but comes into Friday having won four of his last five while holding opponents to just two goes in each game. He is not Tuukka Rask, but if he can be close, the Red Wings have a shot.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT The last weekend of the regular season is upon us; 7 games tonight, 9 tomorrow and 10 for Sunday. Where did the time go?  With all the playoff positions basically filled except the final spot in the Western Conference, most teams will rest some of the starting goalies for the long playoff drive. Corey Crawford gets the call tonight against the Washington Capitals, who will go with Jaroslav Halak (LIKELY). Chicago is resting some players and giving some of the younger players some valuable playing time.  The Hawks have won 4 in a row and seem to be peaking heading into the playoffs.  The Capitals played last night so a rested, Blackhawks squad should be able to get past the Caps.... Detroit sends out Jimmy Howard as the Red Wings prepare for their 233rd consecutive playoff appearance. The Carolina Hurricanes will go with Anton Khudobin who has made Cam Ward expendable by his play this season. Howard has a personal 4-game winning streak so he is back in form after a season where he struggled to find consistency.  The Red Wings should make it 5 in a row for Howard.... Curtis McElhinney gets the call for the Columbus Blue Jackets who, despite a tough schedule to close the season, have clinched just their second playoff berth in their NHL history. The Blue Jackets won't suffer with McElhinney in net while the Tampa Bay lightning hoe to get Ben Bishop back for the playoffs.  Anders Lindback will start until then to get some playing time in and to boost his confidence. Lindback has managed to win two in a row in relief of the injured Bishop, but the Jackets are hot right now.  Go with the Jackets.... Tonight could be Martin Brodeur's (LIKELY) last hurrah with the New Jersey Devils as he takes on Evgeni Nabokov (LIKELY) and the NY Islanders at the Rock. It is difficult to imagine Marty coming back to the Devils especially with the Devils trying to lock down a goalie for the next ten years in Cory Schneider.  Unless the Islanders have another target for goalie next season, Nabokov could be re-upping to stay on the Island for one more year.  Nabby has gone 4-0-1 in his last five starts, but the Devils will give Brodeur a good sending off..... A win tonight by Kari Lehtonen and the Dallas Stars will clinch the last open playoff spot but they need to get past the St. Louis Blues to do that, which is no small task. The Blues would love to make the Stars squirm for another day, and with Ryan Miller in ...

Howard turned aside 25 of 27 shots in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Sabres. He has won each of his last four starts while holding the opposition to two goals in each contest and posting a .929 SV%. Howie has brought his game to another level in the final month of the season and appears ready to try and carry the Red Wings into the post-season, much like he did last season. They have clinched a playoff spot, now games are about who they will face--Boston or Pittsburgh? Pick your poison.

Howard stopped 21 of 23 shots in a win over the Sabres of Friday. Howie has now won three in a row with a 2.00 GAA and .929 SV%. Tonight, he is a must-start as he goes up against the Sabres again. Detroit's magic number is 3, so a win tonight all but assures the playoffs for the 23rd straight season.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT The Detroit Red Wings can move closer to their 23rd straight playoff berth by defeating the lowly Buffalo Sabres tonight. Jimmy Howard has won three straight in goal for the Wings, but the team has struggled away from home with a 2-6 record in their last 8 road games. Buffalo's starter Mathew Hackett has lost 4 straight with a 3.90 GAA and a .886 SP during that span, so the Wings should prevail here. The return of star forward Pavel Datsyuk swings the pendulum clearly in Detroit's favor, so expect Howard and the Wings to win handily... There is nothing on the line for either team in the Ottawa- Islander's matchup, even though the Senators are not mathematically eliminated yet. Even though Robin Lehner sparkled in his last start, Craig Anderson gets the call here for the Senators. The Isles have been road warriors over the last 21 games, going 14-5-2 over that stretch. Quite the "tossup" game, so we can't recommend either goalie as viable fantasy options tonight... "King Henrik" Lundqvist has lost 3 of his last 4 starts, but with the Rangers fighting for home ice advantage, we expect Carolina to be in for an uphill climb in MSG tonight. The "Blueshirts" have dominated the Hurricanes at home, winning the last five matchups. The ‘Canes will turn to Cam Ward in goal, but unless their top scoring tandem of Eric Staal and Alex Semin wake up in a big way, Lundqvist should avoid a possible letdown and prevail in this "must-win" situation... Since returning from illness, Sergei Bobrovsky has posted two shutouts in 4 starts for Columbus with spectacular numbers- 1.72 GAA and a .948 SP. With tonight's opponent Phoenix also having a lot riding on the outcome, look for a highly contested, low-scoring affair between the 2 playoff contenders. The way "Super Bob" has been playing for the Blue Jackets, I am predicting another clean slate for the reigning Vezina winner... No Jonathan Bernier for the reeling Maple Leafs means that James Reimer will probably be manning the Toronto crease the rest of the way. Incredibly ineffective to say the least and not the same goaltender ever since his Game 7 "meltdown" against Boston in last year's playoffs, Reimer's chances to gain a road victory at Tampa seems unlikely. Coming off a bad home defeat to Dallas, the Lightning's Ben Bishop should be licking his chops for his matchup against a sinking Toronto team that his team lit up to the tune of 5 goals in their last ...

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT Peter Budaj will take on Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators while Carey Price will go up against Detroit tomorrow night. You never know which Anderson you are going to get this year while Budaj has given steady performances as the Montreal Canadiens backup.  The Habs are 8-2-0 in last 10 while the Sens are just 4-5-1. Go Habs.... The winner in tonight's showdown between the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals will improve their shot at possibly making the playoffs with just a handful of games remaining after tonight. Caps goalie Jaroslav Halak has lost 4 in a row and has not looked like the goalie he was while in St. Louis. Cory Schneider, on the other hand, looks to be regaining the form he had prior to the Olympic break where he was stellar in net but not receiving goal support. Schneider has gotten the Devils 5 points in his last 5 starts, losing in 2 shootouts and an overtime game to Minnesota.  Both teams playing spirited hockey, but I'll give the edge to Schneider.... Buddy, I mean Matthew Hackett will be in net for the Buffalo Sabres as they continue their road trip with a stop in Detroit.  The Red Wings have picked up their game lately winning 3 in a row and 6 of their last 10 to put themselves in good position to make the playoffs for the 23rd consecutive year. Jimmy Howard will protect the net once again for the Red Wings and should stretch the streak to 4.... Roberto Luongo returns to the net for the Florida Panthers as they take on very pesky Calgary Flames team. Joey MacDonald gets the call as the Flames are playing the back end of two in a row. Ramo has started 7 in a row and with back-to-back nights, MacDonald gets the draw. The Cats have lost 4 in a row and are just 2-7-1 in last ten games, showing signs that their minds are elsewhere.  Stay warm with the Flames..... Thomas Greiss of the Phoenix Coyotes will look to stop his personal, and the team's, 3-game losing streak tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.  The Coyotes have slipped from the eighth playoff position during this losing streak while the Dallas Stars have gone on a run, winning 5 of their last 7.  The Oilers may prove the right elixir as they have lost 6 of last 7.  Look for Ben Scrivens (LIKELY) to get the call for Edmonton..... Columbus has probably the toughest schedule of all the teams battling to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference but catch a break tonight as both the Blue ...