Sneak peek: Jonas Gustavsson's stunning 2014 Winter Classic mask

The Monster's mask for the big game in the Big House looks pretty classic. (Detroit Red Wings via Twitter) By Allan Muir With Jimmy Howard’s sprained knee

The Monster's mask for the big game in the Big House looks pretty classic. (Detroit Red Wings via Twitter)

By Allan Muir

With Jimmy Howard’s sprained knee putting his availability for the Winter Classic in jeopardy, all eyes have turned to his backups to see what special equipment they might wear for Detroit's New Year’s Day date with the Maple Leafs at the Big House.

Petr Mrazek generated a lot of buzz when revealed his snowman pillows earlier this week. And now we get our first look at the mask that Jonas Gustavsson commissioned for the event.

It's a beauty, adorned by the Winter Classic logo, an old-timey Red Wings wordmark, some snowflakes and his jersey number. Not sure it'll pop for the folks in the cheap seats, but it'll look great in the TV close-ups.

His new pads, though? We've seen this vintage look done better. Maybe he can talk Mrazek into a trade ...

Unfortunately, Jonas Gustavsson's pads leave a bit to be desired. (Ansar Khan via Twitter)