DETROIT – Jimmy Howard, a former UMaine goalie, wasn’t handed a spot in the All-Star game.

He earned it.

Howard, the Detroit Red Wings’ goaltender, played his way into the league’s showcase of stars later this month in Ottawa after his name wasn’t among the 18 players at his position on the ballot in November.

“With my numbers last year, I probably didn’t warrant to be on there,” Howard said.

After giving up nearly three goals a game last season, Howard has bounced back.

He has an NHL-high 27 wins and ranks among league leaders by allowing fewer than two goals a game and stopping almost 93 percent of the shots that make it to him.

“I’m just playing with a lot of confidence,” he said.

It shows. And, the Red Wings couldn’t be happier to have the 27-year-old standout in net.

“Jimmy is really coming into his prime,” GM Ken Holland said. “He’s a big part of us being in the hunt in the division and conference.”

Detroit, which led the tightly contested Western Conference with 61 points on Wednesday, plays tonight at Phoenix.

The Red Wings kept Howard off the free-agent market last summer by signing him to a $4.5 million, two-year contract. They liked what they saw from a player nurtured in the minors until he was “over-ripe” as Holland likes his prospects to become before giving them a shot to play in the NHL.

Detroit drafted Howard in the second round of the 2003 draft after he starred for three seasons at Maine, and gave him four seasons to develop with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

“Of course it was frustrating when you’re in the American Hockey League and you see other guys getting called up that you think you’re just as good if not better and it can weigh on your mind,” Howard said. “I’m very thankful that they waited on me and let me progress at my own rate. It worked out for us.”

Indeed.

Since the 2008-09 season — his first full one in the NHL — he has won a league-high 101 games.

He was runner-up for top rookie after ranking in the top five in wins, goals-against average and save percentage. Even though he won 37 games last season, he seemed to slip from spectacular to sometimes shaky with a 2.79 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said Howard doesn’t get rattled anymore if he gives up a soft goal or has a poor game. The latest such example came earlier this week when Howard misplayed a puck behind the net and gave up a goal in a win against Chicago, but he didn’t let that affect him the rest of the game.

“Jimmy proves it is a process for a lot of guys to make it at this level,” Holland said. “Some players are able to jump on the scene at 19 or 20 and don’t miss a beat, but for most players it’s a process to get comfortable and to know what you can do in this league.

“To play in the All-Star game, you have to play your way onto the radar screen unless you’re the No. 1 overall pick and everyone knows you. And, that’s what Jimmy has done.”

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

CAPITALS 3, CANADIENS 0: Michal Neuvirth made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and Alex Ovechkin scored his 19th goal on a power play midway through the second period to lift Washington at Montreal.

BLACKHAWKS 6, SABRES 2: Jonathan Toews had two goals, rookies Andrew Shaw and Jimmy Hayes also scored as Chicago handed Buffalo its 10th straight road loss.

Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland also connected for the Blackhawks, who won their second straight and are 4-0-1 in their last five.

Jason Pominville scored both goals for Buffalo, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Sabres from extending the team’s record road-losing streak.

Toews has goals in three straight games, and four goals and three assists in a five-game point streak.

Corey Crawford made 25 saves in the win. Buffalo’s Jhonas Enroth stopped 29 shots.

NOTES

Daniel Alfredsson of the host Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins’ Zdeno Chara will serve as captains for the NHL All-Star game. Picked by their fellow All-Stars, they will lead the team selection process at the Jan. 26 draft. The league said Team Alfredsson would wear white jerseys and red pants, with Team Chara in dark blue jerseys and pants. … The Florida Panthers could be without Ed Jovanovski for two months after the veteran defenseman underwent surgery to fix a broken hand. Jovanovski injured his hand in a first-period fight against the Boston Bruins on Monday. … The St. Louis Blues signed All-Star goalie Brian Elliott to a two-year, $3.6 million contract extension … Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon says the school and the NHL are discussing bringing the Winter Classic to Michigan Stadium. Brandon said conversations about the annual showcase game outdoors were continuing amid reports that the Detroit Red Wings would play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 1, 2013, at the Big House, which holds 110,000 on football game days.

The NHL said it had nothing to announce about the 2013 game.