David Ayres played half an NHL game. He recorded a victory. Jimmy Howard has played 27 games this season. He has two victories, but none since October.
It’s been a sad fall from grace for Howard, a three-time 35-plus game winner in the NHL. This season was supposed to go much differently: if healthy, Howard would have been able to hit the 50-game mark again, with Jonathan Bernier serving as a reliable backup for a team where 31st place was almost a guarantee from the get-go. But Bernier has played surprisingly well and has earned the starting spot, while Howard has failed to recover from an early-season injury to post one of the worst seasons by an NHL goaltender that we’ve ever seen.