VANCOUVER -- If there was anything that Brett Howden needed, maybe what he needed most was simply to relax. Just play the game.
Even if he could have, Howden was making no effort to mask the relief he felt at popping in a goal on Monday night in Edmonton, and shedding a little monkey from his back. In truth, though, the goal was just the most visible culmination of the work, both physical and mental, that Howden has put in during his rookie year, throughout the season but in particular lately, as he navigates the accomplishments and the growing pains of a player's first full professional season.
He is a 21-year-old who made the Rangers out of training camp, playing center in the NHL, adjusting to his first full season in the National Hockey League, and now trying to regain full speed after being forced out for a month with a sprained MCL - an injury that occurred just as he was feeling good about a few things that had been weighing on him.
David Quinn said he hoped that Howden's goal in Edmonton was "a sign of things to come." More certainly, it was an indication of the work that came before.
"It's the most up-and-down year I've had for sure," Howden, who spent his previous four seasons in junior, with WHL Moose Jaw, said on Tuesday after a skate at Rogers Arena, where the Rangers will face the Canucks on Wednesday night. "It's a long year, and I began to learn that. It's a hard league to play in. I've learned lots - I've been learning lots from the older guys here. And hopefully I can end on a high note here, with all of us. We really want to finish out the season strong."
Hard Work Paying Off for Howden in Return From Injury
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Howden on comfort level after injury recovery
NYR@EDM: Howden swoops in and buries loose puck