DETROIT -- The experience Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard gained as a rookie in last year’s playoffs was evident to his teammates in the first round sweep of Phoenix.

"I think he feels more comfortable, having been there last year and knowing what it feels like being in pressure situations," Nicklas Lidstrom said. "I think it helped him in this series, knowing what it takes."

Howard played with the kind of consistency he showed the first two months of the season, something he lacked later in the year. He gave his team a chance to win every game.

"I learned a lot about myself last year, how mentally tough I’m capable of being," Howard said. "I’m just trying to apply that this year.

"I feel more experienced. Last year was a whirlwind. This year, I know what to expect, know how fine of a line it is."

Howard had a 2.50 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in the four games, an improvement from the regular season (2.79, .908).

"He was great through the whole series," right wing Patrick Eaves said. "I feel very comfortable with him back there. If we do make a mistake, he’s always there, and he’s big in the net. There’s not a lot to shoot at."

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said all players are a work in progress.

"With experience, I think you get better and get confidence and feel good about yourself," Babcock said. "He’s worked real hard. He’s become a good goalie in this league.

"He gets run support, he gets goals, which makes it way easier for a goaltender."

Ice times balanced on defense

When Babcock juggled his defense pairings at the start of the season, he wanted to balance ice times so that six players averaged roughly 20 minutes per game. Injuries prevented that from materializing.

But Babcock was able to spread out the minutes in the first round: Niklas Kronwall (22:25), Brian Rafalski (21:20), Brad Stuart (20:51), Jonathan Ericsson (19:37), Nicklas Lidstrom (19:34) and Ruslan Salei (16:18).

"Nick doesn’t play on the penalty kill for us right now when we got everyone on deck," Babcock said. "That’s wear and tear on Nick Lidstrom. He’s unbelievable on the power play, unbelievable on the puck, so why would you wear him out doing that (penalty kill)?

"We got Kronner, Stewie, Salei and (Ericsson) to do that stuff, so Rafi and (Lidstrom) play on the power play and we end up with minutes shared."

Babcock said of Kronwall: "Obviously, Kronwall’s an elite player, we play him in the (No.) 5-6 hole (but), really, with his age he’s probably our best guy in lots of ways."

Rest is good, rust no concern

The Red Wings will have at least a week off before the next round.

"It’s good for us to relax and get some much-needed rest and to actually hang out with our families, which you normally don’t get to do during the playoffs," Howard said.

General manager Ken Holland said Henrik Zetterberg (sprained left knee) could have played this weekend and that the break will benefit Johan Franzen (left ankle). Both will be ready for the start of the next round.

Holland is not concerned that the team will get rusty after a lengthy break.

"In ’09, we swept Columbus in Round 1 and had seven days off," Holland said. "We have a veteran club. It’s not like we have a bunch of kids."