By Michael Caples –
DETROIT – There was plenty of speculation swirling around Jimmy Howard’s absence during Games 4 and 5 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series with Boston.
The Red Wings’ netminder confirmed what was reported to the media after Game 4 – he had a terrible case of the flu.
“I knew this was going to be answered, so I’ll give you the full rundown of the day,” Howard said during the Wings’ locker room clean-out day at Joe Louis Arena. “It all started about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, it just progressively got worse. It’s the flu. Training staff and the medical staff tried to give all the medication for myself to go out there and play for the guys, but as I got out there in warmups, everything just got worse and worse. I missed most of the game because I was too busy in the toilet area. It’s tough to go out that way, not play again, because of that. For me, I wanted to be out there for the guys in the worst way. We really tried, it just didn’t work out.”
When asked what kind of flu it was, Howard said, “the flu that keeps in the bathroom for a long time.”
He also confirmed that he did not have a concussion; there were suggestions that he may have suffered a head injury during Game 3 in Detroit.
“That was the weird part, when that came out everyone was saying concussion, concussion, and it actually got my mom pretty nervous, because she heard on the radio back in her hometown,” Howard said. “There’s nothing with a concussion. It was just the flu.”
The 30-year-old netminder also said he won’t be playing for Team USA at the World Championships in May.
“No, my wife’s eight months pregnant, so she doesn’t really want me in Belarus. I’ll be sticking around here for a while.”
The family is expecting another boy; Howard joked that he’s ready to start fielding his own team.
When asked about how his season went, Howard admitted that there was room for improvement. The Wings’ leader between the pipes saw a drop in save-percentage (.910) and an increase in goals-against average (2.66) from his two previous seasons, and his 21-19-11 record was his worst since he took over as the official starter for Detroit.
“I thought it was an OK season,” Howard said. “By no means was it a good or great season. I think I can be a lot better, a lot more consistent for the guys, and that’s what I’ll work on over the course of the summer. When the puck drops again here in October, we’ll hit the ground running.”
He also said that he and his fellow veteran Red Wings need to find a way to improve before the 2014-15 season, though he wouldn’t speculate on what roster changes may be coming.
“That’s a question I can’t answer. That’s something Kenny and management to go over, and do what they feel is the best for the team and the organization. For us players, guys that have been here for a while, we have to find a way to get better.”