EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- At age 25 and with 4 1/2 years of pro experience, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard is not a typical rookie.

But despite having played his first game for the Red Wings more than four years ago and having four full seasons with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins under his belt, Howard is an NHL rookie.

And just past the halfway point of the season, Howard has emerged as a candidate for the Calder Trophy, which awarded to the league’s top first-year player.

“The most important part of the season is the second half,’’ Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “If he plays as well the second half, he certainly has to be a guy people talk about for the Calder.”

Howard is eighth in the NHL in goals-against average (2.19) and fourth in save percentage (.924). Coming off a 51-save performance in Thursday’s 2-1 victory in Los Angeles, Howard will make his eighth consecutive start Saturday night in San Jose, when the Red Wings wrap up a four-game West Coast trip.

The top three Calder candidates might be goalies. A pair of backups are having strong seasons.

Washington’s Semyon Varlamov is 12-1-2, with a 2.21 GAA and .924 save percentage. Boston’s Tuukka Rask is 10-4-2, with a 1.92 GAA and .933 save percentage.

No rookie skater has overly impressive statistics. The New York Islanders’ John Tavares, who was last year’s top overall draft pick, leads rookies with 16 goals and 28 points.

The last Red Wing to win the Calder was goalie Roger Crozier in 1966. Howard, however, isn’t concerned about individual honors. His is focused on winning games and getting his team back into a playoff spot.

“I’ve gotten the chance and I’m trying to make the most of the opportunity, giving the guys a chance to win, trying to outplay the other goalie,” Howard said. “As quickly as things have happened, they can go away just as fast. I try not to think about anything else except doing my job.”

Howard had only one start in the first eight games and he didn’t do well, losing 5-3 to the St. Louis Blues in Sweden on Oct. 3. He looked even worse in his third start, a 6-5 shootout loss in Edmonton on Oct. 29.

But when Chris Osgood got sick with the flu in mid-November, Howard got a chance to run with the starting job. His turning point was a 3-1 win against Vancouver on Nov. 12, the first game Howard stole for Detroit, which was sluggish after playing in Columbus the night before.

“I was talking to my buddy a couple of weeks before that and I was like, ‘All you need is one good game and I’ll be off the ground running,’ “ Howard said. “A lot of confidence came beating a guy like (Canucks goalie) Roberto Luongo, who’s considered by some to be the best in the league. It was an awakening for me that I can play in this league and play on a consistent basis.”

Said Holland: “He went eyeball-to-eyeball with Roberto Luongo and since then his confidence got better and better. He’s consistently solid to good every game, rarely gives up a bad goal.”

Howard has earned the confidence of teammates and coach Mike Babcock.

“His work ethic is really good. He does a lot of stuff after practice, taking a lot of shots,” Kris Draper said. “He’s getting rewarded right now with hard work and we have a ton of confidence in whoever is in net for us. Right now, Howie’s getting a great opportunity and making the most of it.”

Said Babcock: “You got to give (goaltending coach) Jimmy Bedard a ton of credit, and Chris Osgood, because they’re doing a real good job in helping him and supporting him.”

Babcock’s focus is winning now, not worrying about getting Osgood, who hasn’t played since Dec. 20, prepared for the playoffs.

“We’re on the outside, so what do we got to do? We got to win,” Babcock said. “So you got to put whoever’s in the best situation to allow you to win.”

After Ty Conklin excelled as Osgood’s backup, going 25-11-2, the Red Wings could have re-signed the veteran free agent in July and traded Howard while waiting for prospects Daniel Larsson and Thomas McCollum to develop in Grand Rapids.

But they stuck with their plan, letting Conklin go and standing behind the man labeled their goalie of the future when they drafted him with their first pick in 2003 (second round, 64th overall).

Now, they are reaping the rewards.

“Jimmy has been as big a story as we’ve had the first half,” Holland said.