Detroit Red Wings 2015-16 Season Preview: Goaltending battle

With the emergence of Petr Mrazek last season due to injuries to starter Jimmy Howard and back up Jonas Gustavsson, Ken Holland made it very clear that the battle for the starting goaltender coming into the 2015-2016 season would be between Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek, killing all rumors of a possible trade of Howard during the offseason. 

Breaking down the numbers: First let's start with Howard. 

GP: 53

Wins: 23

Losses: 13

OTL: 11

GAA: 2.44

SV%: .910

These numbers while not great, are not absolutely terrible. They are actually very close to his career numbers. Had it not been for injury, these numbers may have looked a lot better. Before injury Howard was absolutely on fire, posting a 16-7-7 record, a 2.08 GAA, and a .921 SV%. He's was a workhorse for the Wings. Not to mention the Wings were near the top of the Eastern Conference during a good amount of that time. His second half though, is what made him lose his starting spot. 

Petr Mrazek: 

GP: 29

Wins: 16

Losses: 9

OTL: 2

GAA: 2.38

SV%: .918

Mrazek quickly turned into the teams number one goalie with the way he performed while Howard was out. He performed well enough that he was awarded the Game 1 playoff starting spot over Howard in which Mrazek performed amazingly posting 3 wins, 4 losses, a 2.11 GAA, and a .925 SV% along with 2 shutouts. He did all this while playing the leagues best offensive team in the Tampa Bay Lightning last year. Petr Mrazek's case for starting goalie is certainly a strong one. 

Prediction: Mrazek will end up winning the number one job over Howard. While Howard can be a phenomenal goalie, he lacks the mental strength in being able to bounce back from poor performance, or injury as seen last year. While Mrazek, if he had a bad game, he usually followed it up with a very solid performance. He's a better puck handler which is something that seems to be on the up and up in the NHL. If Mrazek can make sure he isn't too aggressive when coming out to cut down angles (which got him into trouble with Babcock last year) than he will easily win the starting job.