Pekka Rinne robbed as Jimmy Howard named NHL's 2nd Star of the Month

by Dirk Hoag on Apr 1, 2010 4:25 PM EDT

The NHL announced their 3 Stars of the Month for March earlier today, and while few would argue with the 1st and 3rd selections (Lee Stempniak and Henrik Sedin), the selection of Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard for the 2nd Star of the Month should raise more than a few eyebrows.

Of course, Howard's stellar play has lifted the Red Wings into a secure Western Conference playoff position, but when you compare results side by side, how could the league possibly have chosen Howard over Nashville's Pekka Rinne?

	GP	MIN	W	L	OTL	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
March 2009 - Jimmy Howard	15	883	12	2	1	33	2.27	402	369	.918	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	OTL	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
March 2009 - Pekka Rinne	14	796	9	3	1	24	1.81	365	341	.934	4

Peks put up a much higher save percentage (the single-most important goaltending stat), and had 4 shutouts to Howard's one. He was 1st Star of the Week for March 14-20, and 3rd Star of the Week for March 7-13. Jimmy Howard, by comparison, was named 2nd Star of the Week once, for March 21-27.

Maybe this whole thing was an April Fool's joke by the NHL?

Poll

Which goaltender was more deserving of being named one of the NHL's 3 Stars of the Month for March?

Jimmy Howard

36 votes

Pekka Rinne

152 votes

188 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

OK, who voted for Howard?

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by Chris Burton on Apr 1, 2010 4:29 PM EDT reply actions

trolls

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by Aditya T (smashville) on Apr 1, 2010 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions

indeed

Its clear as a bell what the answer is to me— Rinne’s % and SOs were redonkulous.

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by Chris Burton on Apr 1, 2010 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Howard is a good goalie...

…but the return of several Red Wings players has no doubt been, at minimum, half of the reason for Detroit’s success. Don’t get me wrong, Howard is good, but he’s no Pekka. Could you imagine Howard in net for us against the Kings Tuesday???

And Chris is right, who the hell voted for Howard? That’s taking this April Fool’s day thing too far. =P

by Poiju on Apr 1, 2010 4:31 PM EDT reply actions

The stupid Red Preds...

…just goes to show you, they don’t know what’s right in their own backyard…

by LuvthePreds on Apr 1, 2010 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s because playing for Detroit, Washington or Pittsburgh instantly makes you good of course…

/end sarc

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by Kevin Sellathamby on Apr 1, 2010 5:40 PM EDT reply actions

it just proves.

no player will ever get thier due while playing in Nashville for some reason. remember the “surprises” at the Olympics?

by flyalder on Apr 1, 2010 5:56 PM EDT reply actions

actually...

It’s probably more related to the fact that the Dead Things went from fighting for the playoffs to getting a pretty secure spot in the past month. A goalie will always get the credit for that kind of thing, and with the playoffs approaching I imagine that’s what made the difference.

That being said, I definately voted for Peks.

TN Sports fan in Hoosier Country....

by Evanbio on Apr 2, 2010 7:44 AM EDT reply actions

It's about the team.

Howards play has gotten the red wings into the playoffs- the preds were already in the playoff contention. So while rinne has undoubtedly played better and his stats show it, howards play was more important for his team than rinne’s was for the preds.

by letsgoredwings on Apr 2, 2010 11:52 AM EDT reply actions

Thats a pretty fair point; thanks for stopping by. I’d agree to an extent. I think the return of Franzen and Holmstrom had just as much to do with your resurgence as Howard, though.

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by Chris Burton on Apr 2, 2010 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions