DETROIT - Gustav Nyquist was asked if Jimmy Howard has been the Detroit Red Wings' most consistent player.

"I would say so for sure," Nyquist said following Tuesday's 3-2 shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Little Caesars Arena. "It's hard to argue that, the way he's playing. Every game he's given us a chance to win, so that's huge for us."

The Red Wings (5-8-2) have rebounded from an 0-5-2 start, winning four of their past five games. Howard has been the main reason. He is 3-0-0 in his past three starts, with a 2.59 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.

Overall, his numbers aren't great (4-5-2, 2.93 GAA, .917 save percentage), but they don't tell the whole story. He has played well behind an injury-ravaged defense that started the season with four rookies.

"Jimmy's been playing great all year," Justin Abdelkader said. "He's making some big saves and bailing us out when we need him. We just got to continue to do a good job in front of him and try to be in lanes and block shots and clean up rebounds, because a lot of times he's so good at making that first save."

The Red Wings are happy with Howard, and Howard is happy in Detroit. That is why the sides are sure to agree on a contract extension this season.

Howard is in the final year of his contract (a six-year deal with a cap hit of $5.29 million) and turns 35 in March, which has led to speculation he might be moved at the trade deadline for a draft pick. With Jonathan Quick out indefinitely following knee surgery last week, some wondered if a trade might come sooner and the Los Angeles Kings would be interested.

It doesn't matter. The Red Wings are committed to keeping Howard. He likely will receive a multiyear contract, and the tandem of Howard and Jonathan Bernier will be manning the nets in Detroit for a couple more seasons.

None of the Red Wings' goaltending prospects (Filip Larsson, Keith Petruzzelli, Joren van Pottelberghe) will be NHL-ready in at least the next several seasons. Howard is better than what they have in Grand Rapids (Harri Sateri, Patrik Rybar). And the Red Wings see no point in searching for a better alternative in July's thin free-agent market.

The Red Wings know what they have in Howard, someone who gives them solid goaltending for the most part, despite facing a lot of rubber (the Wings are being outshot by an average margin of 35-28 and have outshot their opponent only twice in 15 games).

"If you go over the course of the last couple years, I think Jimmy has been excellent," coach Jeff Blashill said. "A little bit coming out of the (All-Star) break last year he wasn't as good for a stretch and it hurt his numbers, but other than that he's been really good. It's an unreal testament to looking at yourself and saying, 'I got to get better at certain things.' He did that a number of years ago and he's just a real good goalie now on a consistent basis and he's got a real competitive fire to him. He wants us to win bad. It shows in his game."

That was apparent in the 40-save performance vs. the Canucks, in which Howard stopped all three shootout attempts. He said he wasn't aware the crowd was on its feet chanting his name as Bo Horvat was skating in for the final attempt.

"Just clear the mechanism, stick with the process," Howard said.

"I think it's just going out there and working hard for 60 minutes, realizing that this game has a lot of ups and downs and if you just continue to stick to it and keep working for 60 minutes some nights you're going to get the bounces and we were able to find a way to get two points."

The Red Wings are rebuilding but still want to win, at least be competitive. They get that with Howard, which is why he'll be sticking around past this season.

Injury update: Dylan Larkin didn't practice Wednesday after getting hurt in the final minute of the first period Tuesday (he finished the game and scored the lone shootout goal). Blashill said it's not serious and Larkin is expected to practice Thursday.

Frans Nielsen (concussion) and Andreas Athanasiou (leg) are "trending toward returning" Friday against the Rangers at LCA, but haven't been cleared, Blashill said.

Ehn reassigned: The Red Wings reassigned forward Christoffer Ehn to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday, after he appeared in one game during his second stint with the team.

"We would like him, if he's not playing lots on a regular basis, to play in the American League and continue to work on pushing for more offense," Blashill said. "When he's here he's going to be more in a role where he's more of a defensive-type player and he's probably playing a little bit safe.

"He plays very good hockey when he comes here, but we'd like to get more offense out of him. So if he's not going to play tons (in Detroit), that's why we've had him down, but certainly he's a guy who can come in and help us. Plays good hockey, walks right in and helps us, played on the wing and did a great job."