After a subpar start to the season which saw goaltender Petr Mrazek lose his first two outings and post a .889 average save percentage while allowing a total of nine goals, the Czech netminder has bounced back on Monday night by allowing only a single goal past him on the 32 shots he faced. This translates to a .969 SV%, which is better than the .857 against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 13 and a very respectable .919 against the Florida Panthers on October 15.
This would usually incite head coach Jeff Blashill to stick with his number one goaltender ahead of the Detroit Red Wings’ matchup against the New York Rangers tonight, but he has decided to change things up a little by giving veteran goalie Jimmy Howard the nod.
This will mark the first 2016-2017 regular season game in which Howard starts in net, which can be a little confusing given Mrazek’s heroics night in and night out:
